Walworth County jury convicts Racine County man of homicide charges in car crash

June 28--ELKHORN -- A Walworth County jury Thursday convicted a Racine County man on homicide charges stemming from 2014 car crash that killed his Delavan passenger.

Taran Q. Raczka, 26, of Kansasville, was convicted of homicide by use of a vehicle with detectable amounts of restricted controlled substances in his system and homicide by negligent use of a vehicle.

Raczka drove into a tree the morning of Oct. 27, 2014, killing Jeffrey Bonsall, 45, who was riding with Raczka to a painting job.

A blood test showed Raczka had traces of cocaine and marijuana in his system. His lawyer, Melissa Frost, had argued the crash was likely caused by a seizure and not the small amounts of drugs in his system.

The jury of six women and six men deliberated for two hours before reaching its verdicts on the third day of the trial.

Assistant District Attorney Diane Donohoo argued any level of impairment was irrelevant to this case because the charge only required she prove Raczka had a "detectable amount" in his system.

Frost argued her client was exercising due care that morning, and the crash "absolutely" would have happened even if there were no drugs in his system.

Given Raczka had stopped taking his seizure medication, Donohoo argued it was still reckless for Raczka to drive. Frost said he had stopped taking the medication because of its cost and pointed out his job did not offer insurance to cover it.

Earlier in the case, now-deceased Walworth County Judge James Carlson ruled Raczka could not use his seizure as an affirmative defense because not taking his medication meant the seizure was not an independent cause out of his control.

A state appeals court overturned that ruling Dec. 20 and sent the case back to Elkhorn. The District 2 Court of Appeals said the issue was one for the jury to decide, not the judge.

The defense did not disagree with a lot of what the prosecution presented as facts in the case, Frost said at the beginning of her closing argument.

Frost agreed with Donohoo that the jury should convict her client of the third charge: operating a vehicle with a restricted controlled substance in his system--and the jury did.

Reconstructions of the crash showed no signs of evasive steering just before the crash, Frost said. She asked the jury if they would convict someone who hadn't taken his heart medication.

Donohoo did not have to prove Raczka had any intent to crash or that he was high or impaired before the accident.

"Any amount that is detectable is too much," the prosecutor said.

Raczka did not testify.

Donohoo said there were "a very simple set of facts in this case." Raczka drove, crashed, Bonsall died in the crash, and Raczka had an "illicit street-drug cocktail" in his system.

"None of these decisions were due care," she said.

Donohoo said it was a "tragic" case "on both sides," but Raczka was responsible for what happened.

Raczka was taken into custody after the court was adjourned, and he said "love you" to the four people there supporting him.

Raczka faces prison time, and Judge Phil Koss said the charges were "too serious" to let Raczka stay free on bond.

He will be sentenced at 10 a.m. Sept. 19.

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