UPDATE: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - 5:30 pm

"It's only a matter of time if something isn't done, somebody is going to be killed," Donna Pechan says.

A local woman's worried over what could've happened after police say a repeat drunk driver barrels through a Madison neighborhood.

The crash happened early Tuesday morning near Cottage Grove and Dempsey roads. Police tentatively charged 50-year-old Donald Wiessinger with his 11th OWI offense -- plus several other charges.

"What woke me was the pounding at the door," Pechan says.

Donna Pechan was worried something happened to her daughter, who works overnights. But police were knocking to tell her someone hit a car in front of her home.

"I thought, well, that's a bummer. Until we actually got outside, walked at the other side and noticed the whole side was gone."

Turns out, her daughter's car was hit...

"There are skid marks behind my daughter's car which go about ten feet."

It then slammed into her father's car, which was in front of it.

"I am worried the whole right side's going to fall off while I'm driving."

Moments later, neighbors say they could hear the car coming around the corner on this block... It hit that tree... then another tree across the street and caught on fire.

"He could've hit the neighbor's house. He could've hit our car. He could've hit our house," Ken Koscik says.

Police say an officer who had been trying to stop the suspect, dragged him--unconscious--from the burning vehicle. Police identified the driver as Donald Wiessinger, a man with history of drunken driving.

"I wonder which one is going to be the magic number to where somebody decides he has to go somewhere for quite some time," Pechan says.

Dane County's DA cannot comment specifically on this investigation. But, he but says the legislature recently changed the law for repeat offenders. OWI is a felony at the 5th offense. Now, the law further breaks down maximum possible sentences for repeat offenders.
"It is gradations running upwards," he says.

"10th is the same as 20th, but at least 10th and above is 12.5 years prison exposure," he says, "At least it recognizes the increasing seriousness as people get convictions."

But Pechan wonders how serious before this suspect is unable to get behind the wheel for good.

"I know there's nobody who can babysit him 24-hours a day, but there would be if he were locked up."

In 2004, Wiessinger pleaded no contest to OWI, 9th offense. A newspaper report about the incident says a witness saw a van driving erratically, then crashing into a parked pickup truck. Court records show Wiessinger was sentenced to 34 months in prison.

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UPDATED Wednesday, October 15, 2008 --- 9:50 a.m.

The man pulled from his burning vehicle early Tuesday morning on Cottage Grove Road isn't facing a seventh drunk driving charge as initially reported by Madison police, but instead will be charged with his 11th drunk driving offense.

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Original Story Posted Tuesday, October 14, 2008 --- 8:20 a.m.

Incident Report from the Madison Police Department:

A citizen reported a vehicle driving into parked cars in the 600 block of Cottage Grove Road at 2:14 a.m. An officer responded in to the area and attempted to stop Donald Wiessinger's - age 52 - vehicle.

His vehicle accelerated and he tried to elude the officer. He lost control a short distance later and struck a tree. His vehicle caught fire as a result of the accidents. He was found unconscious in his vehicle with his doors locked. Officers had to force entry into his vehicle to rescue him before firefighters arrived.

He was treated at a local hospital before going to the Dane County Jail.

Suspect:
Donald A. Wiessinger, 52, Madison
Charges: OWI 7th Offense, Eluding, OAR, and several other traffic charges.