Woman police say was playing gaming apps on phone before fatal crash pleads no contest
WISCONSIN RAPIDS − A 33-year-old Stevens Point woman charged with causing the death of a 68-year-old Chili woman by driving while playing gaming apps on her phone pleaded no contest Wednesday to second-degree reckless homicide.
Elizabeth A. Zivney, formerly of Wisconsin Rapids, was found guilty of the charge resulting from the death of Deborah J. Johnson on Sept. 18, 2019. As part of a plea agreement, a charge of second-degree reckless injury was dismissed but will be considered during sentencing.
Wood County Circuit Judge Todd Wolf ordered a presentence investigation for Zivney and scheduled her sentencing for April 13. Zivney faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint, Zivney said she was driving a red Chevy Cruze on State 54 and was in the outside lane when her phone rang. Zivney said she went to grab her phone and accidentally grabbed her personal cellphone instead of her work phone. She said she then hit something and did not remember anything after that, according to the complaint.
When a Grand Rapids detective arrived at the scene of the crash, she saw Johnson and her husband lying on the road. The Can-Am Spyder motorcycle they were riding was embedded in the front of Zivney's Cruze, according to the complaint.
Johnson and her husband, who was a passenger on the motorcycle, were both wearing helmets. Johnson died from head injuries. Her husband suffered fractures to both his shoulders, left arm, ribs, pelvis and vertebrae, as well as a collapsed lung, according to the complaint.
A forensic examination of Zivney's cellphone showed she played a gaming app called "Lucky Gold" for 7 minutes and 54 seconds in the moments before the crash, according to the complaint. She used 19 different game screens during the almost eight minutes, according to the complaint. Zivney's work phone did not ring until 25 seconds after the first 911 call.
A Wisconsin State Patrol trooper completed an accident reconstruction and determined Zivney was going about 85 mph in a 65 mph zone at the time of the crash, according to the complaint. The motorcycle had pulled out of a driveway at Donahue Super Sports, 6821 State 54 in Grand Rapids and was about 150 feet from the driveway when Zivney hit it, according to the complaint.
More:The 988 Crisis Lifeline is taking more calls from Wisconsin every month. Here's how it works.
SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Our subscribers make this coverage possible. Click to see the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune's special offers at wisconsinrapidstribune.com/subscribe and download our app on the App Store or Google Play.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Woman enters plea to Wood County fatal crash that killed Chili woman
