Medford man faces charges from deadly Sept. 26 crash

Charges have been filed against Blain Lain, 18, of Medford relating to a September 26, 2023 crash that resulted in the death of one of the passengers and the paralyzation of another.

At 2:55 p.m. on Sept. 26, law enforcement responded to a rollover crash near N2524 Oriole Dr. in the town of Medford. At the scene, they found the bodies of the vehicle’s three occupants in the field and a debris path that’s over 100 yards long.

According the criminal complaint, Lain had detectible levels of a restricted substances in his blood at the time of the crash.

On January 24, District Attorney Kristi Tlusty filed the following formal charges against Lain: Homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle - A class G Felony with possible penalty of up to $25,000 in fines and up to 10 years in prison.

Knowingly operating a motor vehicle without a valid license and causing death — A class H felony with a penalty of up to $10,000 in fines and up to six years in prison.

Knowingly operating a motor vehicle without a valid license and causing great bodily harm — A class I felony with a penalty of up to $10,000 in fines and up to three years, six months in prison.

Homicide by vehicle - use of controlled substance — A class D felony with a penalty of a fine up to $100,000 and up to 25 years in prison.

Use of a vehicle with a controlled substance in blood causing great bodily harm — A class F felony with a penalty of a fine up to $25,000 and up to 12 years, six months in prison.

The criminal complaint was based on reports and investigation by Sgt. Nick Schuld and Det. Aemus Balsis of the Taylor County Sheriff’s Department. According to the complaint as Schuld was southbound on Oriole on the way to the scene he crossed a bridge and was driving uphill yet, when he noticed a patch of wet leaves in the roadway. Schuld noted this was the location where it appeared the vehicle began to skid and lose friction with the road surface.

“I saw tracks enter the west ditch. As I crested the hill, I saw a vehicle (minivan) in the west field, at rest on its right side, facing northwest. The debris field leading to the vehicle was easily over 100 yards long. I saw two human bodies lying among the debris field; it appeared they had been ejected,” the report states.

Robert Sackmann and his father Ray Sackmann were in the field with their UTV and had two dogs with them when Schuld arrived.

The report states: “As I came to the group, I took notice of an adult woman lying face-up with her head downhill toward the southeast. She would later be identified as Breanne Flint. Breanne was fully dressed, but her shirt was pulled up high partly over her chest. I saw no signs of life in her. She was motionless, her skin was a pale grayyellow, and her eyes were open and still. I passed by her to tend to an adult male only several feet away from her. He was lying on his left side, breathing shallowly, while moaning. I could hear in his breathing that he may have fluid in his lung(s). He was not coherent at the moment and didn’t answer questions. I believed he may have life-threatening internal injuries.”

Schuld asked the men present if the third person was still in the vehicle.

“They pointed to an adult male lying in the field a surprising distance to the southeast of the vehicle. I had not realized this was in fact a person when I had arrived, as I saw him in my peripheral as debris. I jogged over to the male, who was lying on his back, staring into the sky. He was completely motionless, but his eyes were darting back and forth,” the report stated.

“I spoke with him briefly. He could not recall being in a crash and seemed alarmed when I told him so. I identified him verbally as ‘Zack (Zachary) Mesun.’ Zack appeared to me to potentially be paralyzed but otherwise stable. I noticed no visible bleeding or injuries which needed immediate attention. I was uncertain if he was paralyzed, so I told him I needed him to remain still while I go back to check on the other two,” the report states.

Schuld then went back to Breanne but could not detect a pulse. “I checked her carotid for a pulse, but when I pressed inward, brown fluid flowed out of her nose. I was certain Breanne had died prior to my arrival,” he stated.

Schuld then went to the nearby male who he believed to have the least chance of survival and assisted EMS with him, when they arrived at about 3:10 p.m. Deputy Holly Miller also arrived about this same time. Schuld directed EMS to Mesun’s location as well.

According to the report the male had started answering questions and said he “hit water.” He objected to his jacket continuing to be cut off of him. EMS told him, “You know you were in an accident and we need to have you on your back, so just in case there’s something wrong with your back, ok.” I asked him his name; he answered “Blain Lain.” I asked if he was driving; he said, “Yeah.” I asked if he “hit water”; he answered, “Yeah.” I was familiar with Blain, but didn’t recognize him. I asked who else was in the vehicle; he said, “Just me.” I asked their names; he said, “Blain Lain.” I told him there were other people with him; he didn’t acknowledge there were other occupants. Miller and Schuld helped secure Blain to a longboard and carry him to the ambulance. I asked once more if he remembers the names of the others with him; he said, “No I do not.”

Three cell phones were recovered. At this point, a diaper was found on scene and there was a concern a small child could have possibly been in the crash. Emergency personnel walked the field and ditch to make sure there was not another person/child also ejected from the vehicle.

“I was told the vehicle was not stable, but I was adamant I needed to check inside. Several of us pushed the vehicle over to rest on its tires. We checked inside, but found no one else,” the report states.

“I began photographing, and measuring with a method of pacing, due to the unusually long crash scene. I saw a tire tread mark in the road, indicating the vehicle began to skid clockwise and enter the ditch facing northwest. The vehicle continued to skid sideways until it caught the field edge at the top of the ditch, and began to roll many times until it came to rest. From the edge of the road to where the vehicle came to rest was approximately 546 feet (182 yards). Mesun was lying an additional 93 feet (31 yards) south, but slightly east of the van. From the time the vehicle showed signs of skidding on the roadway, to where it rested, was approximately 648 feet (216 yards).”

Deputies checked the area for evidence. A vape device was removed from the left pocket of the bright green jacket which was partly cut off of Blain and left in the field. The device was handled and processed by Detective Balsis, who had arrived on scene at about 3:15 p.m.

Krug’s Towing removed the vehicle and cleaned up the field, bagging papers, vehicle parts including glass and plastic, articles of clothing, and many other items which had no evidentiary value but needed to be removed from the farm field. All bags of debris were to be held for one day and were to be discarded afterward.

See DEADLY CRASH on page 11 The vehicle, registered to Kisandra Nitek, the mother of Blain, was followed to the evidence garage by Deputy Miller, where it was secured inside, protected from the elements.

Schuld interviewed the caller, Robert Sackmann who said he was working in his garage and heard a vehicle coming at a high rate of speed, based on the sound it made passing over the bridge. He said it was loud. After hearing this, he looked out to the road and witnessed the vehicle in the ditch and then airborne, spinning or rotating. He said he called 911 right away. Robert said he placed a blanket over [Blain]. He said Breanne’s shirt was twisted around her head initially and he said her chest was moving at first. Robert said Ray spoke with [Zack] who asked where “Brea” was.

Schuld spoke with Breanne’s grandparents by phone, after Barron County had made notification to them. They were identified as Thomas and Candis Flint of Barron and were Breanne’s guardians. They were not aware of where Breanne had currently been living and didn’t approve of her relationship with Zack, as the two were apparently dating.

Balsis noted that based on the distance travelled, the amount of damage, the number of times the vehicle overturned, it was clear the vehicle had been traveling at an excessive rate of speed.

He stated, “Based on my experience, I would easily estimate the vehicle had been traveling at or in excess of 100 mph at the time of the accident. I later researched a 2011 Chrysler Town & Country van via on-line open-source records and learned the van’s top speed is governed at 120 mph.”

In the report Balsis noted that according to WI DOT records, Blain Lain does not have a valid driver’s license and has never been issued a State of Wisconsin driver’s license of any type, but had a state ID card.

Balsis reported that the vape device from Lain’s pocket was a white Kodo Pro Yocan vaporizer device with a glass cartridge attached. The cartridge was filled with a thick tan oil substance. The device had a sweet smell to it.

“I know these devices are commonly used to ingest marijuana concentrate oil (Tetrahydrocannabinols / THC),” Balsis stated.

Blain has a previous possession of marijuana forfeiture conviction on his record out of Langlade County Court. A field test of the oil from within the vaporizer device showed the oil tested positive for THC.

Taylor County District Attorney Kristi Tlusty and Balsis drafted a blood draw search warrant for the blood of Lain and Wausau police assisted with the blood draw at Aspirus Wausau Hospital where he had been taken for treatment.

The blood draw kit was later sent via USPS mail to the State of Wisconsin hygiene lab for forensic testing on September 28. Lab personnel stated the test results would likely not be available for approximately 6 months.

In examining the cellular phones located at the scene, Balsis examined the Samsung cellular phone which was determined to belong to Breanne. The cellular phone was turned on and there were messages and application notifications seen on the home screen of the locked cellular phone. There was a notification from the application “Life360” which is a family tracking application and shares location data, etc. The notification on the cellular phone indicated that a dangerous speed had been detected of “112 MPH”.

Lain is scheduled to have an initial appearance on February 20 at 1 p.m. at the Taylor County Courthouse.