Illinois man pleads not guilty in drunk driving crash that killed 3 relatives in Kenosha County

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — An Illinois man charged in a crash that killed three family members, including a doctor, a nurse and a dentist, has pleaded not guilty in Wisconsin.

Forty-year-old Timothy Vandervere, of Beach Park, Illinois, appeared in Kenosha County Circuit Court Thursday where a judge found there was enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Vandervere then entered not guilty pleas to eight felonies, including first-degree reckless homicide. Vandervere has also pleaded not guilty to drunken driving.

Prosecutors say Vandervere was allegedly speeding and driving erratically April 5 when he slammed into the back of an SUV in Salem Lakes, killing 67-year-old Michael Rizzo, 74-year-old Mary Rizzo and her 76-year-old husband, Vincent Rizzo. Michael Rizzo, a doctor, and Vincent Rizzo, a dentist, are brothers. Mary Rizzo was a nurse. The SUV's driver, a 72-year-old brother, Gerald Rizzo, was injured.