Medford Man Enters Plea for Homicide by Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle

Thursday, August 1st, 2024 -- 12:01 PM

(Karen Madden, USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin) A 19-year-old Medford man pleaded guilty Monday to charges connected to a September crash that killed a 26-year-old woman.

According to Karen Madden with USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin, Blain J. Lain pleaded guilty to homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle for the death of Breanne E. Flint, 26.

He also pleaded guilty to knowingly operating a motor vehicle without a license causing great bodily harm and causing injury by operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance.

In an unrelated case, Lain pleaded guilty to exposing himself to a minor. Taylor County Circuit Judge Ann Knox-Bauer found Lain guilty of the charges and scheduled his sentencing for Nov. 11.

Additional charges of operating a vehicle without a license causing a death, homicide by operating a vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance and an unrelated charge of child abuse were dismissed, but the judge will consider them at sentencing.

According to the criminal complaint, at 2:54 p.m. Sept. 26, a caller reported a one-vehicle rollover on Oriole Drive, north of Taylor County O, in the town of Medford. When the first officer arrived on scene he found debris from the crash spread out over more than 100 yards.

Flint was lying in the road and appeared to be dead. Lain was lying near her and had life-threatening injuries, according to the complaint. A witness pointed out another man from the crash who was lying in a nearby field.

The officer went over to the man, who identified himself, but said he didn't remember being in a crash, according to the complaint. The officer thought the man had signs of being paralyzed and told him not to move.

The officer went back to the woman and man lying in the road, who were being looked at by emergency medical services. He was able to talk to Lain, who said he "hit water." Lain told the officer he had been driving the minivan when it crashed.

A witness, who had called the crash in, told the officer he had been working in his garage when he heard a vehicle coming at what sounded like a high rate of speed, judging by the sound the minivan made going over a bridge.

The man said he looked out to the road and saw the vehicle in the ditch, then flying through the air rotating, according to the complaint. Lain and the other man both were transported to Aspirus Wausau Hospital.

The man in Lain's vehicle was paralyzed, according to the complaint. Flint died at the scene. Officers found three cellphones at the scene of the crash, one of them belonging to Flint.

Flint's phone had an app on it that allowed family and friends to locate her and alerted her to dangerous situations. The phone indicated that a dangerous speed of 112 mph had been detected, according to the complaint.

Officers also found a vape pen in the pocket of Lain's jacket. Lain had protested when emergency personnel were trying to take the jacket off, according to the complaint. The pen tested positive for THC. Lain faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison and 29 ⅟₂ years on extended supervision.

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