Teen Faces Four Years in Prison After Friend Tossed from Pickup

A 17-year-old Brookfield boy is facing felony charges in connection with an incident in which a friend of his fell out of the bed of a pickup truck and was so severely injured that he wound up in a coma.

Thomas A. Buday was charged Thursday in Waukesha County Circuit Court with one count of reckless driving and causing great bodily harm, and one count of obstructing an officer. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison and $20,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Feb. 18, Buday and some friends were at to meet up and go to a party when one of his friends sat in the bed of the truck. Buday took off real quickly, causing his friend to be tossed from the bed of the truck. The friend was severely injured in the incident and ended up in a coma for five days.

Witnesses at the scene told officers the friend had tried to jump into the bed of the truck while it was moving and was injured. However, when the victim came out of the coma, he told investigators he had been sitting in the bed of the truck when Buday took off quickly, but didn’t remember anything else.

Officers then made contact with other witnesses at the scene who confirmed the victim’s story.

Buday allegedly told passengers in the cab of the truck he was going to do a “four wheel drive launch” while the victim was sitting on a tool box in the bed of the truck.

Officers then confronted Buday again, who admitted the vehicle was in motion at the time of the incident.