Jessica Olson, a Monroe woman, has been charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety and other felonies following an incident outside a Browntown bar on March 16. Police allege that Olson intentionally used her pickup truck to ram another vehicle.
Authorities were alerted to the incident when they discovered a vehicle involved in an accident along Wis. 11 and County M in the Town of Cadiz. Following an investigation, police charged Olson, 41, with felony first-degree recklessly endangering safety, felony criminal damage to property, and obstructing an officer. She appeared in court on March 27, where Circuit Judge Faun M. Phillipson set a $15,000 cash bond and a $10,000 signature bond for her release.
The victim’s identity has not been released, but is believed to be known to Olson, leading to domestic violence enhancements to the charges.
According to a criminal complaint, police found a black, dually pickup with damage consistent with the crash at a nearby location. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing a black truck briefly stop, its occupants exit and observe the crash, and then leave.
Police initially searched a Browntown bar but did not find a man and woman matching the descriptions provided. The investigation continued, and recordings of a phone call allegedly between Olson and her brother, from a Green County Jail-issued phone, later surfaced. In the recording, she confessed to “maybe intentionally” ramming the vehicle.
On March 17, Olson allegedly described the incident to her brother in a recorded conversation, stating, “I pulled up. He (the victim) didn’t want to stop. He put his car in reverse. He went around the church, so when he went to the stop sign I (expletive) rammed him at 70 (expletive) miles per hour; sent him (expletive) sailing across the highway.” She reportedly described her actions after the incident, saying, “I felt bad enough that I thought I killed him that I went back… He’s alive, yep, he’s alive,” adding, “Who gives a (expletive) that he’s alive.”
Olson is scheduled to next appear in court on April 4 before Circuit Judge Jane Bucher. If convicted, the first-degree recklessly endangering safety charge carries a maximum penalty of over 12 years in prison. Additional years could be added to the sentence due to domestic violence enhancements and the use of a deadly weapon.
Green County Sheriff Cody Kanable stated Thursday that the investigation remains ongoing.
