Three people, including one police officer, sustained injuries after a Waukesha County motor vehicle accident. Reports say a Milwaukee driver crashed into the back of a stationary squad car and caused it to slam into the vehicle in front of it.
A 46-year-old suspect was allegedly driving drunk and failed to stop when approaching the red light at Pilgrim and Good Hope roads in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Two vehicles were stopped at the intersection, waiting for the red light to change, when the minivan driver rear-ended the patrol car and pushed it into the other car.
The Milwaukee man has been charged with three counts each of OWI and operating a vehicle with prohibited alcohol concentration. The minivan driver registered a 0.29 blood alcohol level during a field sobriety test taken by a second officer investigating the accident. The alcohol level was more than three times the Wisconsin legal limit of 0.08.
The investigating officer said the suspect told him that he was on his way home and lived nearby, although his driver’s license listed a Milwaukee address.
The OWI suspect was charged and released on $500 bail. If the Milwaukee man is convicted of all six counts, he could face a maximum punishment of six years in the county jail and a possible fine of $12,000.
The patrolman involved in the crash and the two occupants in the car ahead of the officer all reported back and neck pain as a result of the crash. The injured officer was treated and released from a nearby hospital and returned to work within days of the accident.
Luckily, the people in this accident were not severely injured. However, that is often not the case in drunk driving accidents. Drunk drivers can cause serious damage to both themselves and others on the road. Hopefully stories like this one will encourage Wisconsin drivers to think twice before drinking and driving.
Source: Sussex Patch, “Milwaukee Man Charged in Accident Involving Falls Cop,” Joe Petrie, July 19, 2011
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