Left inset: Clay Schueffner (Winona State University). Right inset: David Gau (Jesuits Midwest). Background: David Gau's walker laying in the road after he was struck and killed by Clay Schueffner in February 2024 (WISN/YouTube).
A Wisconsin man is facing up to a decade in prison for mowing down a retired priest — who was crossing the street with a walker — with his pickup truck while taking and sending "selfie" photos on Snapchat, prosecutors say.
Clay Schueffner, 26, of St. Cloud, pleaded no contest on Monday to homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle for the February 2024 incident, which caused 93-year-old David H. Gau's body to "fly" through the air and land on the road, leaving him with fatal injuries.
A criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime described how Schueffner told police he was staring down at the GPS on his mounted cellphone when he struck Gau, who was using a "walker" to get around. But phone records later showed it was actually Snapchat that he was using just one second before striking Gau, according to the complaint.
"[Schueffner's] phone created three images (on Snapchat), which are three different 'selfie' images of [Schueffner] sitting in the driver's seat of his vehicle," the complaint said. "The image was sent to three other Snapchat users at 1:39:53 p.m., 1:39:57 p.m., and 1:40:00 p.m. respectively. … Subsequently, at 1:40:18 p.m. … a Snapchat video was opened/viewed by [Schueffner]."
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Police alleged that the timestamps were "consistent" with surveillance video footage of the incident, which showed Schueffner's GMC Sierra striking Gau "without taking any evasive action and without braking."
Schueffner was "looking at Snapchat on his phone and not looking at the road in front of him," according to cops. "At no point in the [Schueffner's] statements to police did he mention that he was utilizing his other phone or utilizing Snapchat," the affidavit said.
Schueffner allegedly told cops at the scene that he works in construction and was on a job near Froedtert Hospital, which is approximately one mile away from where Gau was hit. He stated that he was driving eastbound on Wisconsin Avenue and was going 42 mph, according to the complaint.
"He thought he better slow down because the speed limit is 35 mph," police recounted, citing Schueffner's comments to cops. "[Schueffner] stated that between looking at the speedometer and his GPS, he was looking down for approximately 4 seconds, at which time he looked back up and saw Gau and had no time to react, then he struck Gau."
Schueffner claimed he slammed on the brakes and stood by with Gau, as other people were already calling 911, according to the complaint. Police said witnesses reported hearing Schueffner make multiple comments about what he said happened after getting out of his truck, including "I looked down at my speedometer" and "I was looking at an address and didn't see him."
Surveillance footage showed Gau waiting until traffic was clear and it was "safe to cross," then began to walk northbound, according to the complaint.
"As Gau gets closer to the center line, [Schueffner's] blue GMC truck appears on video traveling eastbound," police said. "Gau appears to attempt to hurry across the street, while the GMC maintains speed and does not swerve to avoid Gau nor does it appear there was any attempt to brake the vehicle, before the vehicle strikes Gau, propelling Gau into the air."
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Gau was a retired priest who taught Latin and French from 1964 to 1983 while being rector and minister of Marquette University High School in Milwaukee. He was a member of the St. Camillus residential community for seniors, according to the Sentinel.
Schueffner, who was identified by local media outlets as a former Winona State University football player, is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 15, 2026.
