Man could get no jail under plea deal for killing Madison cop’s wife in 2020 crash
A plea deal would give five years of probation to a man involved in a crash with a drunk driver that left a Madison police officer seriously injured and her wife dead in 2020.[1] Marshall resident Christopher Blume, 37, pleaded guilty Monday to homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle after reaching a deal with Dane County prosecutors this month for his role in the death of Julie Nelson, the wife of Madison officer Jodi Nelson. Blume also pleaded guilty to a felony count of reckless driving causing great bodily harm.
The homicide conviction carries up to 10 years of combined prison and extended supervision and the reckless driving conviction carries up to 3 1/2 years.
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On the afternoon of Nov.
23, 2020, Blume was speeding on East Main Street in Sun Prairie when he collided with a vehicle driven by a man who had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08%, according to a letter filed in court by defense attorney Charles Giesen. The crash sent Blume’s Honda Civic airborne before it hit the Nelsons, who were walking along a bike path on East Main Street. Julie Nelson died at the scene and Jodi Nelson was hospitalized for more than two weeks with injuries that included broken bones, a concussion with a brain bleed, a severed ankle tendon and nerve damage to her face.
A criminal complaint against Blume filed in February 2022 said his vehicle struck the car of the intoxicated driver. Giesen’s letter cites Wisconsin State Patrol and Sun Prairie police findings that the intoxicated motorist pulled out in front of Blume and struck his vehicle.
The State Patrol also estimated, conservatively, that Blume was driving between 42 and 51 mph in a 25 mph zone at the time of the crash, according to the criminal complaint. The intoxicated motorist, a 35-year-old Sun Prairie man, has not faced any criminal charges for the crash.
He told police he was drunk in the aftermath of the crash and a blood draw later confirmed it. At the time of the incident, he was on a signature bond for a disorderly conduct charge involving domestic abuse, according to court records. Sun Prairie police recommended charges against the man but prosecutors declined to charge him, Giesen said.
According to Giesen’s letter, the court has previously reviewed reports detailing Blume’s mental health diagnoses and personal history and it states Blume continues to receive drug treatments for his mental health conditions. Dane County Circuit Judge Julie Genovese will sentence Blume on March 11, but she is not bound by the terms of the plea agreement in deciding a sentence for Blume.
Today in history: Jan.
8
1815: Battle of New Orleans
In 1815, the last major engagement of the War of 1812 came to an end as U.S. forces defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans, not having received word of the signing of a peace treaty.
U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS
1935: Elvis Presley
In 1935, rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.
AP
1964: Lyndon Johnson
In 1964, President Lyndon B.
Johnson, in his State of the Union address, declared an “unconditional war on poverty in America.”
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1994: Tonya Harding
In 1994, Tonya Harding won the ladies’ U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Detroit, a day after Nancy Kerrigan dropped out because of the clubbing attack that had injured her right knee. (The U.S. Figure Skating Association later stripped Harding of the title.)
AP
2008: Hillary Clinton
In 2008, Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton powered to victory in New Hampshire’s 2008 Democratic primary in a startling upset, defeating Sen. Barack Obama and resurrecting her bid for the White House.
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2008: John McCain
In 2008, John McCain defeated his Republican rivals to move back into contention for the GOP nomination.
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2011: Gabrielle Giffords
In 2011, U.S. Rep.
Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot and critically wounded when a gunman opened fire as the congresswoman met with constituents in Tucson; six people were killed, 12 others also injured. (Gunman Jared Lee Loughner was sentenced in Nov.
2012 to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years.)
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2012: Gabrielle Giffords
Ten years ago: Bells rang in Tucson, Arizona, as residents paused to remember the six people killed in the shooting rampage a year earlier that left U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords severely wounded; Giffords led a crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance during an evening vigil.
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2012: Mitt Romney
Ten years ago: Mitt Romney’s Republican presidential rivals piled on the criticism during a morning debate, two days before the New Hampshire primary.
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2016: “El Chapo”
In 2016, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the world’s most-wanted drug lord, was captured for a third time in a daring raid by Mexican marines, six months after walking through a tunnel to freedom from a maximum security prison.
AP
2017: Israel
Five years ago: A Palestinian truck driver rammed his vehicle into a crowd of Israeli soldiers, killing at least four people in one of the deadliest attacks of a wave of violence lasting more than a year. (The driver was shot dead.)
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2017: The Golden Globes
Five years ago: “La La Land” won seven Golden Globe Awards, including best motion picture, comedy or musical, while “Moonlight” was recognized as best movie drama; Meryl Streep, accepting a lifetime achievement award, criticized President-elect Donald Trump without mentioning him by name.
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2020: Iran
In 2020, Iran struck back at the United States for killing Iran’s top military commander, firing missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing American troops; more than 100 U.S. service members were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries after the attack.
As Iran braced for a counterattack, the country’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a Ukrainian jetliner after apparently mistaking it for a missile; all 176 people on board were killed, including 82 Iranians and more than 50 Canadians.
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2021: Nancy Pelosi
One year ago: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she had spoken to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about preventing Trump from initiating military actions or a nuclear strike; she said the situation of “this unhinged President could not be more dangerous.”
AP
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