Bloomington Man Pleads No Contest To Fatal Crash

A man from Bloomington has pleaded no contest to a homicide charge in relation to a fatal crash in Grant County last year. 57 year old Benjamin Steiger of Bloomington entered a plea of no contest to charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, operating while under the influence of a controlled substance causing injury and two counts of prohibited alcohol concentration causing injury. A plea of no contest means the defendant admits no wrongdoing but accepts a given punishment. A sentencing hearing is set for May 28. According to the Grant County Sheriff’s Department, 73 year old Cheryl Mader of Prairie du Chien, died at the scene of the crash near Patch Grove on June 25th. Mader’s husband, 73 year old Dale Klemme and their two granddaughters, ages 7 and 5, were critically injured in the crash. A report says that Klemme was driving west on Highway 18 near Hicklin Hollow Road on June 25 when a vehicle driven east on the highway by Steiger crossed the center line and struck Klemme’s vehicle head-on. An investigation found Steiger to be heavily under the influence of alcohol and marijuana at the time of the crash.