A Marion man is accused of shoving a woman out of a moving car.
Paul A. Mortenson, 47, Marion, is charged with substantial battery, reckless endangerment, threatening an officer, obstructing an officer, a third drunken driving offense and operating while revoked.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, Waupaca County Sheriff’s Deputy Kyle Wiskirchen responded to a reported crash at the Bear Creek Travel Plaza on U.S. Highway 45.
When he arrived, Wiskirchen saw a green Volkswagen parked alongside the building. Other than oil leaking onto the pavement and grass in the bumper, there was minimal damage to the car.
Inside the store, the deputy made contact with Mortenson and a woman whose face was severely injured.
The woman had multiple abrasions to her bloody face, and her left eye was swollen shut.
Wiskirchen reported the woman was too disoriented, confused and frightened to answer questions.
According to the criminal complaint, Mortenson initially told Wiskirchen he did not know what happened to the woman. He reportedly said she “just started bleeding.”
Wiskirchen reported Mortenson appeared intoxicated and his answers seemed evasive and inconsistent. He said she had been driving when she hit a deer, that he met her at the gas station, that he had been in the car with her at the time, the complaint says.
Wiskirchen then examined the vehicle more closely. He found there was a significant amount of blood splattered inside the car, blood on a purse and blood on the steering wheel.
The minor damage to the car was not consistent with the woman’s injuries.
As deputies further questioned Mortenson, he allegedly became increasingly belligerent. He began yelling profanities at the officers.
When deputies escorted him to Wiskirchen’s squad car, Mortenson said “he had bombs and guns on his person and was also a terrorist,” the complaint says.
As Wiskirchen drove him to the jail, Mortenson reportedly made derogatory remarks, swore at him repeatedly and challenged him to stop the car and fight him.
Prior to being transported to ThedaClark Regional Medical Center in Neenah, the woman spoke with Deputy Sara Besel.
The woman said Mortenson drove her car after they left a bar.
She described his driving as erratic. After he drove the car off the roadway, she asked him to stop.
Mortenson then became angry and allegedly hit her two or three times in the face. She begged Mortenson to pull over and let her out of the car. He slowed down, but as the woman opened the door, he accelerated and pushed her out of the moving car, the complaint says.
Mortenson allegedly drove a short distance, then returned. She was bleeding and hurt and asked him to take her to a hospital.
When Mortenson stopped at the gas station, the woman jumped out and ran inside for help.
A preliminary breath test indicated Mortenson had a .129 blood-alcohol content.
Mortenson was arrested for a second OWI on Feb. 18 in Outagamie County. He was convicted on March 6 for refusing to take an intoxication test, and his license was revoked for 12 months.
Shawano County Circuit Court issued harassment restraining orders against Mortenson in May 2016 and in August 2009.