Wisconsin Rapids Man Sentenced for Hit-and-Run Resulting in Death

Thursday, September 5th, 2024 -- 10:00 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) The man found guilty of killing Herbert Weivel of Stevens Point will serve 10 years in prison as part of a 15-year sentence handed down on Wednesday.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Kenneth Butler was sentenced for hit-and-run involving death and homicide by negligent use of a vehicle for striking Weivel as he was out for a walk along a county road outside Stevens Point earlier this summer.

After the ten-year prison sentence, he will serve five years on extended supervision. Conditions of which will include no contact with the victim’s family and absolute sobriety from drugs and alcohol.

Court documents say Butler may have been looking at his phone’s GPS at the time of the incident, and admitted that he thought he had hit a turkey. He continued on his way and was later arrested at his home in Wisconsin Rapids following a tip from the public.

Investigators say Weivel had been lying in the ditch for “several hours” before someone reported the incident. The 63-year-old died from his injuries the day after the incident. Butler has said that he stopped to inspect the damage to his vehicle at one point, though it’s unclear if or when that happened.

Court records also show that Weivel’s family has brought a wrongful death lawsuit against Butler and his former employer, Safelite Auto Glass. Three insurance companies are also listed as defendants in the case. It’s unclear how much the family is asking for in the suit, which was filed on August 29th.

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