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Mark
Benson sits in a courtroom last Friday prior to a hearing at
the Waukesha County Courthouse. Benson is accused of driving
intoxicated in the deaths of Jennifer Bukosky, her unborn
child, Sophia, and her daughter, Courtney Bella.
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WAUKESHA - A state toxicology report on former doctor Mark M.
Benson shows that he was under the influence of painkillers and
anti-anxiety medication when he allegedly rear-ended another vehicle
three weeks ago, killing an area high school principal, her daughter
and her unborn child.
The report was provided by a prosecutor as part of evidence and
testimony in the fatal crash presented in the criminal allegations
of intoxicated driving against Benson, 55, of Oconomowoc, on Friday
in Waukesha County Circuit Court.
Benson is charged with two counts of homicide by intoxicated use
of a vehicle, a count of homicide of an unborn child by intoxicated
use of a vehicle, two counts of causing injury by intoxicated use of
a vehicle and a count of operating after revocation. He is being
held on $1 million cash bail.
On April 25 on Highway 67, Benson is alleged to have driven his
sport utility vehicle into the back of a sedan driven by Oconomowoc
High School Associate Principal Jennifer Bukosky, who died in the
crash along with her unborn daughter, who was to be named Sophia,
and her 10-year-old daughter Courtney Bella. Her son and another
child were also injured but later released from the hospital.
According to the results of blood tests taken after the
collision, provided by Assistant District Attorney Kevin Osborne,
Benson had the painkiller oxycodone and generic versions of Ambien,
a sleep-inducer, and Xanax, for anti-anxiety, in his system. He had
valid prescriptions for the medications from at least two Oconomowoc
pharmacies. At one of them, Oconomowoc Detective Cristian Harnisch
said, Benson had told the pharmacist to limit his intake on some
medications in the past for fear of addiction.
Defense attorney Dean Strang confirmed that some chemicals were
found in Benson’s blood in the state laboratory report, though did
not explain further aside from saying that no alcohol was found.
Benson voluntarily surrendered his medical license in 2004 after he
twice used fraudulent prescriptions to obtain drugs, according to
the state Department of Regulation and Licensing.
For
full story, go to the electronic version of The Freeman. Click
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Justin Kern can be reached at jkern@conleynet.com
(Freeman reporter Brian Huber contributed to this report.)