MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell Lucas held a press conference Thursday to discuss a police pursuit involving reckless driving, which resulted in a crash, killing one and leaving a woman and child injured.
Officials are looking to identify and locate two suspects that were involved in the crash and fled the scene.
The incident happened on Tuesday around 6:07 p.m. Two deputies with the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office saw a vehicle driving recklessly on North Sherman Blvd. near West Hope Avenue.
When deputies attempted to stop the car, it fled northbound on Sherman, then south on West Hopkins Street, before heading east on West Sheridan Avenue.
MCSO says when deputies attempted to go east on West Sheridan Avenue, they crashed into a parked, unoccupied vehicle, ending the pursuit.
As deputies were assessing the damage, a citizen informed them of a serious crash a few blocks away, near N. 37th Street and West Sheridan Avenue.
The deputies responded to the area and found the suspect vehicle had struck another vehicle, which was occupied by three victims, 40-year-old Teion Cooper, a 33-year-old woman, and an 18-month-old child.
Deputies immediately called for medical help and began life-saving measures on the 40-year-old man, who was later pronounced dead on the scene.
Family identified him as Teion Cooper.
The 33-year-old woman and 18-month-old child were taken to area hospitals and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
That 18-month-old has been identified as Miracle Thomas. Earning her name once again after being born premature. Miracle survived the crash with her mother, Barbara.
Two people were in the suspect's vehicle and were seen fleeing the scene on foot. They have not been identified and police are still looking for them.
The family was driving to the store when the deadly accident happened.
"I lost my best friend. He was good person and he had a good heart and they just took it all," Barbara Thomas, Cooper's fiance, said.
The family is vowing to make sure Miracle knows who her dad was.
"How awesome he was and how much he loved them to his last breath," Cooper's sister Tomeka Davis said when asked what she will tell Miracle one day.
Thomas said the suspect needs to turn themselves in.
"They ruined my life, my kid's life," Thomas said.
Davis echoed those concerns.
"It's not just affecting you or the person that died. It's affecting everyone. Look at my nieces and nephews aren't going to grow up with their dad," she said.
Sheriff Lucas said Milwaukee Police also responded to the scene and are leading the investigation.
The deputies who crashed into the parked vehicle have been placed on administrative duties, Lucas said during Thursday's press conference.
One of the deputies is 26-years-old with two years of service. The other is 32-years-old with three years of service.
"It's going to take a lot more effort on our part to do something to rid our community of reckless driving," Sheriff Lucas said. "But certainly people have got to be held accountable for their actions. And certainly we can bring in more people to the table, the auto insurance industry, and others to help us with this issue."
Anyone with information about the fleeing vehicle should call the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division at (414) 278-4235. Anyone with information regarding the fatal crash should phone the Milwaukee Police Department at (414) 935-7360.
