Amandria Brunner was found not guilty on all six felony charges in connection to the deadly crash last September that killed two Marquette University lacrosse players.
The 42-year-old West Allis woman was arrested on the scene of the Sept. 5, 2025, crash near Marquette’s campus at North 27th Street and West St. Paul Avenue that ended the lives of Scott Michaud, 19, and Noah Snyder, 20.
The jury, made up of seven women and five men, began deliberating around 3 p.m. on June 17. A verdict was reached around 1:15 p.m. on June 18.
Here’s what to know about the trial and final ruling:
What was Amandria Brunner charged with?
Brunner faced six felonies:
Prosecutors alleged she was drunk and high when her Ford pickup collided with a Jeep in the crash. Two blood tests proved Brunner had a blood alcohol concentration nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08.
Prosecutors did not charge Brunner with operating a vehicle while intoxicated; the only charges she faced were homicide.
What was the driver of the Jeep charged with?
Prosecutors also charged Peter McColgan, a former Marquette lacrosse player, who drove the Jeep in which Snyder and Michaud were passengers.
McColgan was charged with two counts of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle in the case in May, eight months after the accident and 10 days after he graduated from Marquette University.
McColgan, 22, initially told investigators he had been driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee south on 27th Street at 35 mph when Ford pickup, driven by Brunner, turned left in front of him.
Data downloaded from the Jeep’s airbag control module contradicted him, according to a criminal complaint; it indicated the Jeep’s accelerator was 100% depressed and the vehicle was traveling at 53 mph when the cars collided.
Did McColgan appear in Brunner’s trial?
McColgan briefly appeared during Brunner’s trial in response to a subpoena by the defense seeking his testimony. Once on the stand, McColgan asserted his Fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. The jury was not in the room. He appeared and plead the Fifth while the jury was on a break.
McColgan is expected make an initial court appearance in his case on July 16.
Who did the defense call to the stand?
After calling McColgan to testify, Brunner’s defense lawyers called to the stand Zachary Bingen, a reconstruction engineer.
He said his report concluded the impact McColgan’s Jeep had with a pole after it collided with Brunner’s pickup was more powerful than the collision it had with her vehicle.
Bingen, the reconstruction engineer, works for Madison-based Skogen Engineering. He testified that he combed through hours of body cam and drone video, data from black boxes collected by police and other video evidence to put together a report on the crash for the defense.
Jack Albright can be reached at jalbright@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Amandria Brunner’s acquittal on charges in crash that killed Marquette students
Reporting by Jack Albright, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Jack Albright, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
