MILWAUKEE — A family living on Milwaukee's near south side is struggling after a high-speed police chase involving a wrong-way driver left four of their vehicles damaged. Three of those are essential to their landscaping and plowing business.
Ten-month-old Xandar is oblivious to the struggle his parents are facing.
"It's hard because we've been working a lot to provide for our family," Anakaren Leija said.
Xandar is one of four kids belonging to Leija and Javier Malagon. Their three business trucks and family van were damaged by a wrong-way driver. Two of the vehicles are totaled. It all happened last week near 9th and Madison in Milwaukee. The driver was being chased by police.
"My husband tried to fix them a little bit so we can work tomorrow morning, and they don't look great," Leija said.
The destruction of their four vehicles is a heavy blow to the couple's business. Sadly, it isn't unusual for drivers to go the wrong way in that area.
The couple says there are a lot of kids walking to school in the area when drivers go the wrong way.
The couple has a message to drivers: "People need to slow down."
No working vehicles make supporting the family rough - that means no money for bills, rent, and food.
But the couple is still hopeful. They attend Discovery Church in Oak Creek. They want reckless drivers to know they are not only causing casualties and hurting livelihoods - they're putting the well-being of innocent babies in jeopardy.
A GoFundMe is accepting donations for the family. Visit this link to help.
