A motion hearing is scheduled for June 30 for an Elkhorn man charged with homicide in the death of a man in the Town of Delavan in January.
Aaron M. Gillett, 27, allegedly had chemicals from Dust Off, an aerosol cleaner, in his system when the car he was driving crossed the centerline on County Road F North and collided with another car. Gillett was charged April 29 in Walworth County Circuit Court with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle while having a prior intoxicant-related conviction; homicide by vehicle with the use of a controlled substance, second and subsequent offense; first-degree reckless homicide; operating while intoxicated causing injury, second and subsequent offense; operating under the influence of a controlled substance, second and subsequent offense; operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, second offense; and operating with a restricted substance in blood, second offense.
Police were called to a two-car crash in the Town of Delavan just after noon Jan. 22 and determined the car Gillett was driving crossed the centerline into the path of another car driven by Clarence Watson. Watson was flown to a hospital where he died four days later as a result of blunt force trauma suffered from injuries sustained in the crash, according to the complaint. Watson’s wife, Yuka Watson, was a passenger in the car Watson was driving and suffered three broken ribs and a cut that required stitches to close, according to the complaint.
A crash investigation determined that Gillett’s vehicle crossed the centerline, he did not brake before the collision, and he was travelling 66 mph at the time of the impact, according to the complaint. Watson took evasive action by veering into the ditch where the crash actually occurred, according to the complaint.
Gillett told police he experienced an anxiety attack brought on by post-traumatic stress disorder. Gillett’s driver’s license was revoked from a drunken driving conviction in 2006, and he had failed to complete requirements to reinstate his license, according to the complaint.
A test of Gillett’s blood revealed the presence of difluoroethane, the component of Dust Off, often mistakenly referred to as compressed air. The aerosol is ingested by inhalation, according to the complaint.
