Homicide by OWI charged in fatal crash

By: 
NEW Media Staff

A Gillett man was being held in the Oconto County jail on a charge of homicide by the intoxicated use of a motor vehicle after a crash that killed a 54-year-old Keshena man on Oct. 3.

Christopher Wayne Matchopatow was a passenger in the vehicle and died at the scene, according to an Oconto County traffic report.

Mark A. Martin, 54, was charged in Oconto County Circuit Court on Oct. 4 with the felony homicide by drunken driving count, along with misdemeanor charges of operating while his license was revoked and resisting or obstructing an officer.

Judge Jay N. Conley set bond at $50,000 cash and adjourned Martin’s initial court appearance until Oct. 14 in Judge Michael T. Judge’s courtroom.

According to a news release from Sheriff Todd Skarban, the emergency dispatch center got a call at 11:11 p.m. regarding a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of County roads V and U in the Town of Underhill. A pickup truck traveling westbound on U failed to stop at the intersection and struck a highway sign post and a tree.

When officers arrived, they found the driver standing on the road outside the vehicle with minor injuries. The sheriff said alcohol and speed are considered factors in the crash.