Inset left: Jason Zehe (Waukesha County Sheriff”s Office). Inset right: Megan Voss (Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral Home). Background: The scene of the crash at Sunset Drive and Guthrie Road in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Dec. 30, 2024 (WITI).
A Wisconsin man has learned his fate for driving drunk and crashing into a high school senior, killing her and her dog.
Jason Zehe, 19, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision on Thursday in Waukesha County court, according to local reporting, including from local Fox affiliate WITI. He was also ordered to undergo treatment, stay sober, and complete 200 hours of community service — with eight of those hours needing to be done every year on Dec. 30, the day he killed Megan Voss, 17.
Prior to being sentenced, Zehe had pleaded guilty to homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and second-degree recklessly endangering safety. Two other felonies and three misdemeanors were dismissed.
“It was his decision to get in the car,” Judge Michael Aprahamian said on Thursday. “He could have called an Uber. He didn’t.”
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Zehe had been at his girlfriend’s home on Dec. 30, 2024, before the crash, investigators learned. He reportedly told prosecutors he had consumed two drinks prior to getting behind the wheel of his pickup truck, but his girlfriend told them he had “drank all day,” ABC affiliate WISN reported.
The Wisconsin man is said to have been speeding on Sunset Drive in Waukesha when he ran a stop sign and crashed into an Audi sedan on Guthrie Road — as well as an SUV. The Audi was driven by Voss, and she died after being airlifted to a nearby hospital, the Waukesha Police Department said at the time. Her dog, Bleu — who was in the car with her — had to be put down because of his injuries.
Zehe’s girlfriend was in the truck with him, and she was reportedly partially ejected because of the crash but did not suffer life-threatening injuries. A man in the SUV reported no injuries.
Officers are said to have arrived at the scene to find Zehe outside his truck crying and covered in blood.
“I’m just a stupid boyfriend. I am just trying to take her home,” Zehe reportedly told responding Waukesha police officers. “I was trying to take her home and then all of a sudden, I don’t know, I don’t know what happened.”
He was also asked if he was headed in the direction his vehicle was facing at the crime scene. “Yes, I am not some f–ing drunkard all the time,” he said, per WITI. “I crashed.”
Zehe continued answering questions as he was brought to the hospital to be checked, this time from a paramedic, who asked if he had been drinking.
“Nothing,” he is said to have replied, also denying taking drugs. “No. Like literally nothing. That’s what I am saying.”
But Zehe later said while being treated in the ambulance, “I just wish I wasn’t drunk,” according to prosecutors. He kept speaking, too, adding, “I am the one driving, and yeah, I should get charged.”
Investigators believed Zehe’s girlfriend when she said he had been drinking “all day.” His drinks of choice were wine and vodka, which he was drinking for eight hours before the crash, prosecutors said, and his BAC level was 0.249 – more than three times the legal limit.
According to The Waukesha Freeman, an arrest complaint said Zehe maintained his girlfriend’s parents “got him drunk, knew he was drunk and forced him to leave.” Charges are being considered for these parents, Waukesha County District Attorney Leslie Boese told WITI.
“I’m sincerely sorry,” Zehe said on Thursday before being sentenced, as Voss’ family members sat in court. “There aren’t enough words to describe how sorry I am.”
