Downtown Milwaukee fatal crash; woman accused 'intoxicated:' complaint

Milwaukee streetcar guardrail crash, passenger killed, driver charged

Prosecutors say Kimberly Williams was drunk and smoked marijuana before getting behind the wheel and crashing into a guardrail at a Milwaukee streetcar station in July, killing her passenger.

MILWAUKEE - A 49-year-old Milwaukee woman is charged in connection with a fatal crash that happened in downtown Milwaukee in July 2022. The accused is Kimberly Williams – and she faces the following criminal counts:

Homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle
Homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle (detectable amount of controlled substance)

According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were dispatched to a crash at E. Wisconsin Avenue and N. Milwaukee Street on Friday, July 15, 2022. The first officer on the scene found a car had crashed into a median -- and a handrail on that median had gone through the front passenger's side of the windshield of the vehicle. A woman in the passenger seat suffered significant injuries -- and was pronounced deceased on the scene.

Fatal crash near Wisconsin Avenue and Milwaukee Street

Police spoke with the driver of the car, identified as the defendant. Williams indicated she was driving south on N. Milwaukee Street and struck the median. She told police "there was another vehicle that attempted to pass her prior to the crash," the complaint says. The complaint also says Williams "stated that during the night she had consumed alcohol and had also smoked some marijuana."

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Investigators reviewed video from a pole camera at the intersection. The defendant's vehicle is seen on the video. The complaint says it "jumps the curb at the beginning of the median, driving directly into the guardrail" for the streetcar system. The complaint also notes "at no point in the video does it appear there was a car trying to pass the defendant's vehicle."

Fatal crash near Wisconsin Avenue and Milwaukee Street

Williams later consented to providing a blood sample. It tested positive for TC. The toxicologist also noted that "the defendant's BAC (blood alcohol concentration) at the time of the crash was between approximately 0.94 and .159. The complaint says based on the defendant admission to drinking and smoking marijuana prior to driving, "the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the crash."

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The defendant has been ordered by summons to appear for her initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Feb. 9.