A 17-year-old is being held on seven felonies and two other charges related to a fatal car accident earlier this month. A New Berlin couple, a 61-year-old man and his 52-year-old wife, died instantly when the roof of their Nissan was ripped away during a crash at a Milwaukee intersection.
The teenager was reportedly driving drunk when the accident occurred, around 6:00 a.m. An accident witness was driving behind the victims’ Nissan. Both vehicles were stopped at a red light when a fast-moving Chevy lost control and flew into the air at the 27th and St. Paul intersection.
The roof of the Nissan was torn away by the airborne car. The witness said he saw the accident victims and tried to approach the driver of the Chevy, who had leaped out of the driver’s side window. The driver allegedly fled on foot.
When Milwaukee police arrived, the couple in the Nissan was dead and the Chevy driver had disappeared.
One of the people authorities interviewed at the scene claimed to be a relative of the missing driver. The man told police his teenage brother had stolen the wrecked Chevy from an aunt. The brother later guided police to a residence on South 35th Street, where the teenage driver was taken into custody. Police reported the 17-year-old exhibited signs of drunkenness at the time of the arrest and was hospitalized for facial cuts and a broken arm.
During a police interview, the teenager reportedly claimed he began drinking at his grandmother’s house. The accused driver remembered the accident, which he said occurred as he was driving to see his girlfriend. The teen did not recall crash details or whether he had permission to take the car. The teen was given an alcohol test more than three hours after the fatal accident. It registered a blood alcohol concentration of more than .18.
The minor was charged with four counts of homicide, two for intoxicated use of a vehicle and two for intoxication with prohibited alcohol concentration. Additional counts include hit-and-run resulting in death, driving with a license suspension causing death and driving without a vehicle owner’s permission.
The teen is jailed on $200,000 cash bail. The minor’s license suspension occurred one year ago, after a juvenile alcohol charge.
Source: fox6now.com, “17-year-old faces nine charges in crash that killed New Berlin couple,” Jenna Sachs, Jan. 4, 2012
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