Bond set at $500K for Wautoma man accused of driving drunk in Portage County crash

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) - A judge has set a cash bond at $500,000 for a Wautoma man accused of driving drunk and leaving the scene of a crash that killed a motorcycle passenger.

Investigators say Jose Armando Loa Zuniga, 30, struck the motorcycle with his SUV and continued driving. He is expected to be formally charged Nov. 23. Prosecutors have filed six counts, including homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.

According to the criminal complaint, deputies responded around 5:13 p.m. Nov. 8 to Highway 22, just north of the Waushara County line. A witness reported that an SUV struck a motorcycle and continued south. The motorcycle had been traveling south when it was hit from behind, causing it to crash, the complaint says.

Emergency medical personnel believed the motorcycle passenger had been run over by the SUV. She died from her injuries the following morning at a Milwaukee hospital, according to the complaint.

The motorcycle’s driver was also treated at a hospital. A family member later told investigators he had suffered three fractured vertebrae and was recovering at home, according to an amended complaint.

Waushara County deputies stopped the SUV about 3 miles from the crash scene after receiving information from a witness who had been driving behind it, the original complaint says. Investigators identified Loa Zuniga as the driver and said he was alone in the vehicle.

A deputy reported smelling alcohol and observing that Loa Zuniga’s speech was slurred. A preliminary breath test taken during jail intake registered 0.343, according to the complaint. A blood sample was also collected.

Loa Zuniga told investigators he had consumed beer and a shot at a bar after work but denied hitting anyone. He attributed damage to his SUV to an earlier collision with a turkey, the complaint says.

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