24-Year-Old Woman Who Died In Waukesha Crash Was 'Brilliant'

WAUKESHA, WI — A 30-year-old Michigan man faces up to 40 years behind bars after authorities say he drove the wrong way on I-94 in Waukesha County, and crashed into a vehicle resulting in the death of a 24-year-old Milwaukee woman.

According to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office, deputies were sent to the area of I-94 and Meadowbrook Road in Pewaukee for a report of a car crash just after 11 p.m. on April 15.

When deputies arrived at the site of the crash, they found that Cole Mitchell, 30, from Sanford, Michigan, was driving west in the eastbound lanes of I-94 when he struck a vehicle traveling east driven by 24-year-old Eliana Winterbauer-Light of Milwaukee.

Investigators say Winterbauer-Light was pronounced dead at the scene, and Mitchell was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.

Winterbauer-Light worked at the Rodgers Behavioral Health facility where she helped people who live with anxiety an obsessive compulsive disorders, an obituary on Fitzgerald Funeral Home's website read.

"Eliana was brilliant. In her academic career at Boylan High School and at Marquette University, she was always in Honors, always on the Dean's List, always involved in many activities," an obituary posted online read. "Eliana was an ardent advocate for women’s rights and equality and a former president of Marquette Empowerment. She would gently correct anyone who used words that belittled women. She was also an environmentalist, believing in and encouraging sustainable practices."

According to court records, Mitchell has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide and three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He's currently being held in the Waukesha County Jail on a $250,000 cash bond. He's due next in court on June 3 for his preliminary hearing.