MILWAUKEE, Wis. — New surveillance video obtained by TMJ4's Jenna Rae is shedding light on a July crash that seriously injured two women on Water Street in Milwaukee.
READ ALSO | Water Street crash victims share their story after a driver ran through a barricade and hit them
Chloe Handrich and Samantha Zganjar were crossing Water Street when a woman drove through orange barricades and hit them. The driver was given traffic tickets, but has not been criminally charged.
Since the crash, the young women and their families have been asking questions about why the driver wasn't charged with a crime.
TMJ4 has obtained extended surveillance video from City of Milwaukee street cameras, video from nearby businesses, and dash and body camera footage from responding Milwaukee Police Officers.
Some of the video obtained has been blurred at MPD's discretion, not TMJ4's.
The surveillance video shows Handrich and Zganjar crossing Water Street at State Street before being struck by a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee. The video shows the driver stopped after hitting the women, and bystanders and friends immediately surrounded the victims on the ground.
Before police arrived, the driver parked her car, got out and walked over to check on both women for a few seconds each. She then waited for the police to arrive.
"That's the car that's the one who hit everybody right there, just so you know," a witness told an officer in the body camera footage.
When officers asked what happened, the driver explained her version of events.
"The light was green, I was coming through, but I didn't see that it was barricaded, that's why I proceeded, and then I hit my brakes, but then I seen that they was walking across the street and I kinda clipped both of them," the driver said. "That's why I stopped and pulled over right here."
The driver told officers she was picking up friends from a club because they couldn't drive. She mentioned the green traffic light to several officers.
Surveillance video shows the traffic light on North Water Street was green, despite orange barricades blocking off the road.
In the body camera video, as police officers are talking to witnesses, they, too, mention the green traffic light.
The initial officer never asked the driver if she had been drinking, but when he walked away to talk to another officer, body camera footage captured their conversation.
"Do we suspect OWI with this?" one officer asked.
"Potentially. She says she's the DD for some friends, but I swore I smelled alcohol on her. We're going to have to do sobriety, SFST anyway," the first officer responded.
SFST stands for Standard Field Sobriety Test.
Watch: Body camera reveals new information in July Water Street crash that left two women severely injured
Twenty minutes later, while talking to other officers, the driver admitted to drinking.
"You haven't drank anything tonight?" an officer asked.
"I had a beer," the driver said.
"How long ago was that?" another officer asked.
"A couple of hours ago. I had a beer and a shot," the driver responded.
Video shows the driver remained with officers for nearly two hours, but she was never given a field sobriety test. She did express concern about being arrested.
"In my brain, I'm just thinking, you hit somebody, you're going to jail," the driver said.
"Well, let's just see, we'll see what happens. You're not in cuffs as of this point, alright," an officer responded.
Officers also told the driver they were waiting to hear about Handrich and Zganjar's condition before citing or arresting her.
After officers learned the victims were stable at the hospital, they let the driver go home and cited her for failing to yield and driving without insurance or registration.
Handrich is still in a wheelchair after she shattered her pelvis and leg, punctured her lung, and had seven blood transfusions. Zganjar had surgery on her hand and also suffered a broken nose and several broken teeth.
TMJ4 is not identifying the driver because she has not been criminally charged in this crash.
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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