| By Big Radio News Staff |
An Evansville man who struck and killed a motorcyclist in a hit-and-run in the town of Janesville last summer has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide while intoxicated.
44-year-old Keith Rose faces 25 years in prison for crossing over the lane where Highway 11 meets the Highway 11 bypass, and hitting a motorcyclist head-on June 23, 2023.
Court documents say police later found Rose hiding in the woods near the crash site. It was as officers tried to resuscitate the severely injured motorcyclist.
Police say they found Rose’s Kia SUV at the side of the road, smashed in front and smeared with blood. It was sitting alongside skid marks on the roadside that show Rose had veered into the wrong lane when he struck the motorcyclist.
A person riding with Rose says Rose was nodding off behind the driver’s seat before the crash. The person told police they’d gone fishing before the crash. During that excursion, Rose apparently repeatedly returned to his car.
The person riding with Rose during the crash says he seemed to be showing signs of drowsiness they assumed was from Rose using opioid drugs.
Police say they found a glass pipe with a metal scraper in the SUV, and Rose failed field sobriety tests.
Police say Rose had a gray tongue, was complaining of a dry mouth, and was behaving erratically during his arrest.
The motorcyclist died at the scene.
Rose appeared in court from Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution. He was previously convicted of manufacturing and trafficking methamphetamine.
Rock County Judge John Wood scheduled extra time for a sentencing hearing in October. That’s to give the victim’s family ample time to speak in court.
A defense attorney in the case says they plan to have some people speak on behalf of Rose during the sentencing hearing.
