MILWAUKEE — A motorcyclist is fighting for his life after a hit-and-run on Milwaukee’s south side.
It is yet another example of reckless driving on our streets. It prompted TMJ4 News to dedicate a year to our series called Project: Drive Safer, our commitment to cracking down on reckless driving. We look at the solutions city leaders hope to bring to the table.
Milwaukee Police say the 29-year-old motorcyclist had the green light Sunday while traveling southbound on Cesar Chavez Drive. At the same time, there was a driver traveling eastbound on Forest Home who blew a red light — striking the motorcyclist in the intersection. The driver took off. Police say the person behind the wheel at the time is still unknown.
Pedestrian Kiera Robins told TMJ4 News, “Some people, they be so in a rush, they speed across past a red light and not even see if children are outside.”
The owner of the City gas station near the intersection tells us their surveillance camera was blocked by a large vehicle when the hit-and-run happened. Jorge Ramirez who works nearby, seemed unfazed by the news, “It’s like a known thing. If you live around here, we tell them to ‘be safe’ and for us, that means, 'I love you.' I wish there was a community effort.”
We took those concerns to Mayor Cavalier Johnson. He urged viewers to “Reach out to our traffic safety unit, go on to mpdtsu.org and punch in the location where you are seeing reckless driving happening.”
The mayor says he has been effecting red light cameras to be installed at dangerous intersections, to photograph and ticket the owner of any vehicle caught speeding or blowing a red light, “I’m interested in utilizing cameras as a way to deter reckless driving behavior and hold people accountable.”
A bill introduced into the state assembly this year would allow Milwaukee to launch a five-year pilot program to test the effectiveness of up to 75 cameras in the city. But, it still needs full approval of the legislature, and governor to happen.
Anyone with information on this hit-and-run that happened on Cesar Chavez and Forest Home at about 5 p.m. Sunday is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 414-224-TIPS [8477].
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