H 23°, L 4° | Tomorrow: 
H 21°, L 6°The driver involved in an August crash that killed three University of Wisconsin students was legally drunk, according to a report released by the Dane County Coroner Tuesday.
Rick Putze, 22, had a blood alcohol concentration of .144 when the car he was driving hit a tree on Midvale Boulevard August 27. The legal limit in Wisconsin is .08.
Putze and one passenger, 23-year-old Lindsey Plank, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash and the other passenger, 22-year-old Daniel Myers was taken to UW Hospital after the crash and pronounced dead later that morning.
“It’s rare to see something like this,” UW spokesperson John Lucas said, adding the crash was “unusual and kind of shocking.”
Susan Crowley, director of Preventative Services at University Health Services, agreed, adding UW students who over-consume alcohol typically walk to their residences.
The scarcity of parking spaces around campus means few students own a car or even have access to one, Crowley said, significantly reducing the possibility of drunken driving.
One concern with drunken driving near campus involves the use of mopeds. Last month, Jonathan Casillas, senior linebacker for the Wisconsin Badgers football team, was issued a DUI while operating a Moped. His blood-alcohol content was .15 when he was stopped just after midnight on Aug. 24.
“We are finding that students aren’t thinking about [mopeds] in the same way that they would a vehicle,” Crowley said.
Even though drunken driving does not represent a huge problem on campus, steps are still being taken to prevent it and other alcohol-related problems.
“We continue to do a lot of education with students,” Crowley said.
She said UHS continues to hand out BAC cards, which estimate one’s BAC based on age, sex, weight and number of drinks consumed.
Crowley said these cards help students keep track of their alcohol consumption so they can make informed decisions.
Even a BAC of less than .08 can be dangerous, Crowley said. Driving abilities can be impaired even at BAC levels of less than .05, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
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“Drunken driving causes deaths”
Uh, yeah right. Like nobody ever noticed before.
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The family must really respect you for adding the name of their son on this article. That, and not reporting that his BAC was undeniably lower than the rest, as I was with them less than an hour before this happened and noted the difference in composure between himself and the others present.
Everyone else was having a contest involving alcohol, and they had to be HELPED TO THE CAR by the man driving. He was trying to help his friends get home safely before thye had to be removed by paramedics for passing out in a public place.
An accident is an accident. No one planned it, and they happen more often everyday with people who are 100% sober. Accidents happen undeniably more often because of plain driving stupidity. Do you have to take a GRE exam to be able to drive a car?
Having respect for the families and friends of those that lose their lives must not be a forte of your “Journalism” qualities.
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An accident is when you have a blowout or a deer jumps in front of you. Driving drunk is never an accident. If they had money for drinks they could have taken a cab home. Stupid and needless deaths. I hope the UW quits honoring these fools. It’s disgusting.
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to anonymous at 9:19:
If his BAC was “undeniable lower than the rest”, then all the more blame goes to him. A BAC of .14 is not so intoxicated that a person shouldn’t be able to realize they should not drive.
He might’ve been trying to help his friends get home safely, but he didn’t do a very good job - he killed them instead. His friends might’ve been stupid too for getting involved in a drinking contest without previously arranging a way home, but he was the one who helped them into the vehicle and to their deaths.
They would’ve been better off in a taxi, or even being removed by paramedics for passing out (seen it happen to friends - embarrassing but better than being dead).
Indeed it was an accident, as nobody planned to kill anyone, but it was an accident brought on by extreme stupidity. I feel sorry for the friends and family over these stupid and needless deaths, but hope they will be an example that others who find themselves in similar situations will remember.
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To the 9:19 poster:
I don’t know about you, but when someone dies, most often newspapers identify them. They don’t get special exceptions because they were so and so. Obviously, it is sad in any case that these three people died. But they also made a poor choice. Other drunk drivers who crash also get their names published. The reporter did absolutely nothing wrong and you should feel like an idiot in claiming he did.
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Some of these comments are truly callous. At this point, blame and accusation only hurts those who are already hurting. Claiming you feel sorry for grieving friends and family while berating the dead for their decisions is truly counterproductive, if not cruel.
Nonetheless, publishing this information isn’t meant to place blame. What happened last month was tragic, but raising awareness might prevent a future tragedy. Perhaps it’s good for other students to realize that “less drunk” is not the same thing as “sober.”
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What a tragic waste of life. At least they didn’t kill an innocent victim waiting for the bus, or a little kid sleeping in their bedroom. I am ashamed of the UW for creating scholarship funds in Putze, Plank, and Myers’ names. What did these kids do, other than die to get a scholarship named after them? If the UW is short of names for their funds, they can call me. I have a list of over 4000 service men and women who deserve this honor more than three immature little kids who wasted their lives for one night of fun. Is the UW’s scholarship application going to include getting wasted and see how many people you can kill behind the wheel. They WASTED their education here. Especially the driver Rick Putze. Had he survived, he would be in the Dane County Jail awaiting trial for MURDER!!! even if he didn’t mean it. As for the commenter who was with the subjects at the bar that night…if YOU saw they were drunk, and needed an ambulance, than why did you not call one? Drinking and driving costs lives, and this tragic tale should teach everyone a lesson, not have everyone HONOR their poor judgment with a scholarship fund.