MILWAUKEE — Sundays in the Giles household were filled with food, love, and family. This Sunday though, it was silent as the family grieved a tragic loss.
"I didn't do it," Kim Giles said. "I haven't done too much since this happened."
Giles got word her niece, Ebony Johnson, was one of three victims in a deadly crash near Sherman and Florist early Friday morning. Giles' cousin, Bobbie Dyson, and the girls' friend Lashonda Jackson also died in the crash after another driver blew a red light, running into their car, according to police.
Four days later, and reality still hasn't set in that Giles won't see Ebony again.
"Now that we lost Ebony, it's just been a blow," Giles said. "My mom, she lost both of her daughters and now her granddaughter. It's just been a difficult time."
Tuesday, as Giles and her family plan funerals, she learned the name of the man accused of killing these three women. Everton Stewart, 23, faces 12 felony counts in connection with the crash.
Authorities say he was speeding and blew a light while intoxicated, crashing into a second car with Johnson, Dyson, and Jackson inside.
According to a criminal complaint, Stewart had been drinking all day. Shortly before 2 a.m. on Friday, police were initially called for a disorderly person, Stewart, who was screaming at a woman and threatening others with a knife.
Around 2:10 a.m., Milwaukee police were called to a two-car crash near Florist and Sherman. Dyson and Jackson died at the scene. Johnson died later at the hospital.
A second car, an Avalon, was nearby and had Stewart's passport inside. A witness says they saw Stewart run from the crash. Police later found Stewart at his home in bed, bleeding from his face, knee, and other areas.
"You crashed and took three lives, then you get home and get in bed?" Giles said. "I couldn't believe it. I just can't stomach it."
The complaint states Stewart's blood was obtained within three hours of the crash and the alcohol concentration was 0.157, nearly twice the legal limit.
During a police interview, Stewart said he admitted to driving the Avalon at around 60 miles per hour.
Following the crash, "He said that he got out of his car and did not see anyone in need of help, so he left the area on foot," the complaint states.
Stewart was driving with a revoked license after not paying a fine for an OWI in 2018. Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office pulled over Stewart on Dec. 29, 2018, on I-94 near W. Layton Avenue just before 1:00 a.m. It was Stewart's first OWI, so he was issued a fine, which is the norm in Wisconsin.
That fine, $941, was never paid so Stewart's license was revoked. However, that did not stop him from driving. In 2021, while driving with a revoked license, Stewart was pulled over near 55th and Silver Spring for speeding. Milwaukee police issued him a warning.
It's slaps on the wrist like this that infuriate Giles. Wisconsin is the only state in the country where a first-time conviction for drunk driving is classified as just a traffic violation, meaning there is just a ticket. No jail time, no criminal record.
"Our laws are too weak," Giles said. "That's what it says. To me, our laws are too weak. They're not strict enough. This gentleman has done this before. At this point, I'm just kind of sick of it. I would never have thought in a million years that I would be on the receiving end. I see the news all the time when loved ones speak out about how they lost loved ones in car [crashes] from drunk driving and now my heart is just as heavy as theirs. I know how they feel now."
According to Wisconsin DOT statistics, through 2022, 787,287 people have been convicted of an OWI. Of those, 265,210 (33.7 percent) people have had two or more OWIs.
"I'm sorry, but my heart doesn't go out to him," Giles said. "His family, I have no sympathy for them at all. At all. They need to throw the book at him. Sure, he's going to get prison time. I think he just sit in his cell and rot by himself. I don't think he should get a chance to have any visitors, to see his family and friends. Why? We can't see ours anymore so why should you be able to still love on your loved ones, still see your loved ones when you took three loved ones from us."
Stewart faces the following charges:
- Homicide by Intox Use of Vehicle (2nd+) Felony C
- Homicide by Intox Use of Vehicle (2nd+) Felony C
- Homicide by Intox Use of Vehicle (2nd+) Felony C
- Homicide by Use of Vehicle w/ PAC (2nd+) Felony C
- Homicide by Use of Vehicle w/ PAC (2nd+) Felony C
- Homicide by Use of Vehicle w/ PAC (2nd+) Felony C
- Hit and Run-Involve Death Felony D
- Hit and Run-Involve Death Felony D
- Hit and Run-Involve Death Felony D
- Knowingly Operating While Revoked (Cause Death) Felony H
- Knowingly Operating While Revoked (Cause Death) Felony H
- Knowingly Operating While Revoked (Cause Death) Felony H
If found guilty of all charges, he faces a maximum of 333 years in prison.
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