City leaders sound alarm over fatal crashes, hit-and-run wrecks

It has been a deadly week on Milwaukee street. Now, all the fatal crashes and hit-and-run wrecks have city leaders sounding the alarm.

Milwaukee police arrested two men in connection in connection to a fatal hit-and-run crash that happened Wednesday night at 76th and Calumet. 7-year-old Londyn Quesada was killed.

Londyn Quesada

"The two men taken into custody were 19 and 22. When you see two young men making the decision to just throw their life away (edit) it is frustrating, sad, and heartbreaking," said Milwaukee Alderwoman Chantia Lewis, the co-chair of the city's Reckless Driving Task Force.

"We’ve got to make sure that from the state level, all the way down, we are enforcing all types of reckless behavior," Lewis said.

Milwaukee Alderwoman Chantia Lewis

Between Jan. 1 and this past Wednesday, Milwaukee police report nearly 5,000 hit-and-run crashes. That is an increase of roughly 100 cases compared to the same time period last year. Traffic fatalities in the same time period are also up -- 66 have died this year compared to 42 in 2019.

"We’re going to put more resources into it from the police department," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. 

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett

The mayor is hopeful a $9.7 million federal grant will help.

This week, community groups are rallying for safer streets.

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"We are all the community because we are all driving on these streets and being impacted," said Celia Jackson, the co-founder of the Coalition for Safe Driving MKE.

Reckless driving is also claiming the lives of two 18-year-old women near 27th and Locust on Thursday night. A 20-year-old woman is in critical condition. Police say they arrested a 37-year-old man.

Fatal crash near 27th and Locust in Milwaukee

Jackson now wants to see all community groups working together to solve this problem.

"Everybody needs to be speaking from the same playbook at the same time –really urgently getting that message out there," Jackson said.

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