Driver Faces Homicide Charges For I-90 Crash

5 Unbelted People Ejected From Car

JANESVILLE, Wis. -- A woman was charged Friday in a three-car crash that killed two people, including her older sister.

Maribel Sotelo-Solis, 34, of Waukesha faces two counts of negligent homicide in the operation of a motor vehicle. Her bond was set at $20,100 cash.

Sotelo was making an illegal u-turn when she was t-boned, reported WISC-TV in Madison. Sotelo is also accused of second-offense driving without a valid license and failing to restrain the child.

Yesenia Antonia Montesdeoca, 2, who is the child of a frend, and Anna Sotelo-Solis, 27, who is Sotelo's sister, were killed in the crash and eight others -- most not wearing seat belts, were injured when a car Sotelo was driving crossed the median and crashed into a pickup truck and minivan on I-90 between Wisconsin 11 and U.S. 14 around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Montesdeoca and Sotelo-Solis were ejected from the 1994 Chevy Corsica and died at the accident scene, and six other people were taken to a hospital with injuries, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol.

Officials said there were seven people in the girls' car and five were ejected when the vehicle crossed the median. They were not wearing seat belts and the young child was not in a child-safety seat, officials said. They were on their way to visit relatives.

Darren A. Reichert, 33, of Jeffereson, who was driving a 1987 Chevy pickup truck was taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition. He wasn't wearing a seat belt either, officials said.

Shaskikant Bhatt, 68, of Schaumburg was driving the 1999 Nissan Quest minivan with a woman and a child in a car seat as passengers. They suffered cuts and abrasions. Both adults were wearing seat belts, the State Patrol said.

Troopers said the scene was horrific with wreckage littering the highway and traffic in the westbound lanes of the interstate backed up for miles.

Sotelo told police she missed her exit and tried a u-turn in a construction zone, but the paved area where it happened is not a turnaround. It's a section where traffic will be re-routed later during the road project.

"It's a very difficult manuver," said Lt. Jeff Lorentz of the State Patrol. "For someone to take it upon themselves at a dead stop, it's really tough. She thought she was allowed to make the turn there because she saw arrows on the highway. The arrows on the highway were actually to move over to the new temporary lanes."

There are now bright orange cones blocking vehicles from making the same illegal move. Only barrels marked the spot when the accident happened. Police say there's no excuse.

"There was a solid yellow line, and there were barrels indicating it was a non-travel portion of the highway," said Sgt. Brad Altman, investigation supervisor.

Sotelo is also in trouble for not making sure her passengers were buckled up.

She will be back in court Aug. 25 for a preliminary hearing.

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