Sedlmeier pleads not guilty to all charges in fatal crash

The man accused of causing the traffic crash March 24 that resulted in the death of a 9-year-old Mitchell girl pleaded not guilty Tuesday to all of the charges against him.

Michael Sedlmeier, 46, signed and submitted a written arraignment and plea of not guilty to Judge Sean O’Brien on Tuesday morning during circuit court at the Davison County Public Safety Center in Mitchell.

His case is now scheduled to go to trial in August.

Sedlmeier is charged with first-degree manslaughter, drunken driving, aggravated eluding, vehicular homicide, hit-and-run causing death or injury, and reckless driving.

For the first-degree manslaughter charge, the maximum sentence is life in prison.

Authorities allege he was driving drunk and fleeing from police when he allegedly ignored a stop sign at the intersection of First Avenue and Duff Street, and crashed into an SUV carrying six people.

One of the passengers, Iszabella Morgan, died as a result of the injuries she suffered in the crash.

Sedlmeier, who has been in the Davison County Jail since the crash, appeared in court wearing a standard dark blue jail uniform.

After being led into the courtroom by jail staff, Sedlmeier sat quietly in the front row of the courtroom along with fellow inmates, all waiting their turn to appear before Judge O’Brien.

He conversed briefly with his attorney, Donna Bucher, of Mitchell, prior to the start of court proceedings, but said little else before being led out of the courtroom after entering his plea.

Sedlmeier remains in jail with bond set at $500,000.

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