MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee police are searching for the driver responsible for a deadly hit-and-run that killed a 71-year-old man Monday night near 43rd and Silver Spring.
New surveillance video appears to show the moment a driver sped through an intersection before striking the victim. People who live in the area say they have been worried about safety there for years.
The surveillance video appears to show a man crossing the street as a driver speeds through the intersection just after the light changed. A bus is stopped at the light as the westbound car passes —striking the 71-year-old man crossing the street. Police say the driver kept going. The victim died at the scene.
The roadway stretches three lanes in each direction. Residents point to faded crosswalk markings and speeding traffic as major concerns.
Watch: Milwaukee police search for driver in deadly hit-and-run near 43rd and Silver Spring
Darren Swanson, who takes the city bus along Silver Spring regularly, said the danger there is nothing new.
"It's pretty crazy. Every day I'm taking this city bus here going up Silver Spring, and every day I always see something, if someone's speeding, someone yelling about almost getting hit."
Ronald Tolliver takes the bus daily and says he no longer trusts the lights or the drivers.
"If they slow down, people could get across the street. Old people, people in wheelchairs, they still don't slow down. I cannot understand that."
Rachel Goochey, program manager for Milwaukee Walks, said the design of the road itself is part of the problem.
"I mean, I think I primarily just see how wide the traffic is, like how wide the road is. You're inviting cars to drive at freeway speeds. But it's just a city street going through where we have multiple bus stops, so we know people are going to be walking to bus stops, yet we have roads built that invite cars to drive, you know, anywhere from 35 to 60 miles an hour."
Goochey said Silver Spring is already identified as a high-risk corridor.
"We know that Silver Spring is on the high injury network, so we know that more crashes happen on Silver Spring than on many of the other streets in the city. So we need to build buffers along the sidewalk to protect pedestrians from cars."
She said the road's design prioritizes cars over the people who live and travel along it.
"We have communities living here. Like, there's a neighborhood right there. There's multiple bus stops. There's McGovern Park. There's Havenswood Forest. So, we're inviting people to come out and walk and bike and do physical activity. We know people need to take the bus, but we've built an environment that's only prioritizing cars. So how can we expect people who don't have 2,000 pounds of steel surrounding them to stay safe in this environment?"
Goochey outlined several changes she said could make the street safer.
"Improve street markings. Like, you can't hardly see that there are crosswalks. I think that reducing lane size, I think protected bike lanes."
She also raised concerns about accessibility for elderly residents and people with mobility devices.
"It's huge accessibility issues, and when you have the debris and the potholes, then someone in a wheelchair or some sort of mobility device has to go further into the traffic lane, which just puts them more in harm's way."
The hit-and-run weighed heavily on Goochey, who said tragedies like this are becoming too familiar.
"Sadly, it feels too common. Like I just finished reviewing all of the fatal pedestrian crashes from last year, and I read all the police reports, and it's a story that we're hearing too often… and especially with the hit and run, like we've got a breakdown of culture… it just makes my heart really sad to hear about tragedies like this continuing to happen."
For residents who want to push for change, Goochey said there are steps they can take.
"Neighbors can contact their alderperson, contact their county supervisor… they can invite an alderperson to join them on a walk around the neighborhood so that DPW sees what does it actually feel like to walk through this intersection."
Anyone with information about the hit-and-run is asked to contact Milwaukee police or Crimestoppers.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist 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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