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Police: Early morning crash may have started Milwaukee apartment fire

Posted at 8:34 AM, Mar 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-13 13:41:25-04

MILWAUKEE -- Police say an early morning crash may have started a fire in an apartment complex on the city’s northwest side. It happened just after 6:00 a.m. Tuesday near W. Appleton Avenue and W. Lancaster Avenue. 

“The one guy that was driving this car was just fine," one witness said. "He was able to walk away from it, but this lady had to be taken away in an ambulance."

The witness who spoke to TODAY'S TMJ4 lives in the house that was damaged by one of the cars. He said the sound of the crash interrupted his sleep and he was shocked to find a car had ripped through the side of his home —and shortly after the crash, a fire started at a neighboring apartment complex. 

“I saw the ambulance come and firetrucks so I went back in the house," Steven Washington said. "And then an hour later I heard firetrucks again."

According to police, a Lexus and an SUV were involved in a crash and a woman was taken to the hospital. The cars appear to have knocked over two electrical poles which may have caused the apartment fire, but crews were able to extinguish it quickly and no one was injured by the fire. 

“We thought [the fire] might have been related to the accident," Battalion Chief Dewayne Smoots said. "But it seems like the power feed might be off —it looks like it may be electrical."

Battalion Chief Smoots also confirmed Milwaukee fire is still trying to determine whether the crash is related to that fire.