MILWAUKEE — Debris in the median near the intersection of 70th Street and Hampton Avenue in Milwaukee marks the spot where a suspect's vehicle rammed into the side of a Milwaukee Police squad car on January 29.
Police say two police officers, a 22-year-old with one year experience and a 29-year-old with two years experience, were rushed to the hospital with minor injuries. The suspect, who was fleeing from police at the time of the crash, also suffered injuries and was checked out at the hospital.
Police say the chase began at Appleton Avenue and Capitol Drive just before 8:00 P.M., when officers spotted a reckless driver.
The chase lasted roughly three minutes before the squad car, which was responding as backup, was rammed into at the corner of 70th Street and Hampton Avenue.
Neighbors, who say they have seen police chases in their neighborhoods before, are upset at the mess left behind.
"They left a mess for people to clean up. They're destroying the city," said Milwaukee resident Capri Wilder, who has lived in her home for about three years now.
Police say everybody is expected to be okay.
"Thankfully by the grace of God, everybody that was involved in those two vehicles received minor injuries," said Captain David Salazar with the Milwaukee Police Department. "Obviously, you know that reckless driving is a huge issue in this city and a huge priority for this police department. So, when we observe reckless driving we're going to pursue those cases and that's exactly what happened here."
Milwaukee Police tell TODAY'S TMJ4 that 43 citations have been issued for reckless driving in the first 30 days of 2020. MPD says many of those citations stem from instances where a driver violates two or more traffic violations at the same time.
The Police Department says they have issued 10 reckless driving citations regarding accidents, year to date.
It's a problem that Wilder hopes to see end.
"Just don't run. Just stop. Because, you know, you're just making it worse and for everybody else," said Wilder.
The suspect who ran from police and caused the crash is now in custody and is facing charges for recklessly endangering safety and fleeing an officer with causing injury.
