Amandria Brunner, the woman charged in the Sept. 5 deaths of Marquette men’s lacrosse players Scott Michaud and Noah Snyder, will go to trial on four counts of homicide — two for driving with a prohibited alcohol concentration and two for intoxicated use of a vehicle.
Brunner appeared in court Oct. 2 for her preliminary hearing, at which Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge David Borowski rejected a request by defense attorney Abigail Ruckdashel to dismiss the case, after finding there was probable cause to establish that a felony had been committed.
Brunner was originally charged with two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle; the prosecution added the two extra charges at the Oct. 2 hearing. Each individual charge holds a maximum prison sentence of up to 40 years.
Ruckdashel entered Brunner’s not guilty plea, and requested a substitution in judge, which Borowski accepted. Brunner’s next court appearance will be Oct. 16 with Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge David Swanson presiding.
When she entered the courtroom, Brunner was emotionally distraught, weeping on and off, visibly shaking and rocking back and forth with her head down during the proceedings.
Marquette men’s lacrosse head coach Jake Richard and defensive coordinator Will Roberts were present. Individuals for the victims and Brunner also attended.
Brunner had one prior OWI charge from the City of Greenfield in 2003.
Milwaukee police officer William Hanney, of the crash reconstruction unit, testified during the hearing.
Hanney said there was a can of Miller High Life behind the front seat, which “clearly had been opened before the crash because the pull tab was open.”
Additionally, Hanney said officers found suspected marijuana on Brunner; after further testing, this was confirmed. He said other “drug paraphernalia” was found on her when arrested.
Upon inspection of the airbag control module on Brunner’s white Ford Ranger, Hanney found she “accelerated rapidly” without braking when turning left into the intersection of North 27th Street and West St. Paul Avenue. The criminal complaint said Brunner had the accelerator depressed 96% and was traveling at 11.8 mph — in a 30 mph zone — at the time of the crash.
Hanney said inspection of the airbag control module of the silver Jeep carrying Snyder and Michaud showed the car traveling at an average speed of around 53 mph. Hanney said the driver of the Jeep briefly touched the brakes before pushing the gas pedal at “100% throttle for two seconds before the crash occurred.”
Ruckdashel, Brunner’s attorney, as well as Dustan Davidson, who is working with Ruckdashel on the case, graduated from Marquette Law School in 2024. Borowski, the original judge assigned to the case, also graduated from Marquette Law School.
There is currently a $75,000 cash bail for Brunner’s release. She has a no contact order with the families of both victims and the four other students who were in the car during the crash.
The state’s investigation into the crash is ongoing.
This story was written by Sophia Tiedge and Jack Albright. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].
