UPDATE:
Judge Maureen Boyle committed Patricia Kronquist to the Department of Health Services for five years commencing immediately.
A conditional release hearing has been set for Nov. 20.
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A former Rice Lake woman accused of causing the death of a 71-year-old man in a Highway 53 two-vehicle crash in 2024 has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Patricia L. Kronquist, 58, now of Burlington, was charged on Feb. 19, 2025, in Barron County Circuit Court with a felony charge of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle. Police say that while passing vehicles in a construction zone on Highway 53 she crashed into an oncoming vehicle, killing Ira M. Luplow of Menomonie.
The defendant pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Oct. 28. However, based on the reports of two doctors, Judge Maureen Boyle found Kronquist not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
A hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29, regarding the issue of commitment to an institution or conditional release, along with the length of commitment.
The criminal complaint said that on Aug. 14, 2024, Kronquist was passing other northbound vehicles in the wrong lane of traffic when she struck a southbound 2010 Mercury Mar...