A Milwaukee County jury on Thursday found Amandria Brunner not guilty on all six felony counts in a September 2025 crash that killed two Marquette University men’s lacrosse players.
The 42-year-old West Allis woman teared up as Circuit Judge David Swanson read the verdicts on two counts each of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, homicide by use of a vehicle with prohibited alcohol concentration, and homicide by use of a vehicle involving a controlled substance.
Brunner had been arrested at the scene of the Sept. 5, 2025, crash near Marquette’s campus at North 27th Street and West St. Paul Avenue. The collision killed 19-year-old Scott Michaud of Springboro, Ohio, and 20-year-old Noah Snyder of Irving, New York. Both were members of Marquette’s lacrosse team and had earned Big East all-academic honors the prior year for maintaining GPAs of at least 3.0. Three other teammates in the second vehicle were hospitalized with injuries.
Prosecutors alleged Brunner was driving intoxicated and under the influence of a controlled substance when her Ford pickup turned left into the path of an oncoming Jeep. A witness at the scene reported Brunner smelled of alcohol, tried to mask the odor by chewing gum, and an open beer can was found inside her vehicle. Blood drawn from Brunner about two hours after the crash showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.133, nearly twice Wisconsin’s legal limit of 0.08. Brunner had a prior conviction for operating while intoxicated in November 2003.
The Jeep was driven by Peter McColgan, a 22-year-old former Marquette lacrosse player who graduated eight months earlier. Data from the Jeep’s airbag control module showed the accelerator was fully depressed and the vehicle was traveling 53 mph at impact, according to trial testimony. McColgan initially told investigators the Jeep was traveling 35 mph. He faces separate charges of two counts of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and is scheduled for an initial court appearance on July 16.
During Brunner’s trial, the defense called a crash reconstruction expert who testified that the Jeep’s impact with a pole after striking Brunner’s truck was more forceful than the initial collision. McColgan, subpoenaed by the defense, appeared in court but asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination outside the presence of the jury.
The jury, composed of seven women and five men, began deliberating around 3 p.m. Wednesday and reached a verdict around 1:15 p.m. Thursday. Michaud and Snyder’s family members left the courtroom after the verdicts and could be heard outside the courthouse expressing outrage.
Brunner was released from the Milwaukee County Jail after completing paperwork with the sheriff’s office. The defense argued during the trial that Brunner’s impairment was not a substantial factor in causing the deaths, maintaining that the fatal outcome would have occurred regardless of her condition.
