Shannon Sutters
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee woman who crashed her car into a bus on the city's north side – critically injuring her son – was sentenced to two years' probation on Wednesday, March 6.
Shannon Sutters, 24, pleaded guilty to reckless driving causing great bodily harm as part of a plea deal. Another felony charge was dismissed.
According to a criminal complaint, a Milwaukee County Transit System bus and a car crashed near Sherman and Burleigh on April 29, 2023. The bus driver told police that the car's driver and a "small child" got out of the car after the crash, got into another car and were driven away.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
While police were at the scene, they learned a woman and child had just walked into a hospital roughly a half-mile away and said they were in a crash with a bus. There, officers spoke to Sutters. She admitted, per the complaint, that she was driving the car that had been abandoned at the crash scene. She further said she had her son, who was 2 years old at the time, with her.
The boy suffered serious injuries and remained in critical condition when charges were filed, according to prosecutors.
Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS)
Sutters later told police, per the complaint, that her son was not in a car seat or booster seat but was buckled. She said, though, that she knew he could unbuckle himself. Sutters said her car was experiencing difficulties before the crash – the speedometer, gas tank meter and odometer went out, and the engine wasn't "catching." She said she was driving like that for around two minutes, and planned to pull over after she got through the intersection where she hit the bus. She said she did not see the bus coming and tried to swerve but hit it anyway. The boy had unbuckled himself and was "crawling in between the front driver's seat and front passenger seat," she said, at the time of the crash.
The bus driver was also taken to a hospital after the crash. The complaint states he said he had a green light and proceeded through the intersection when he was "suddenly" hit by the car – he "didn't even see it coming." There was one passenger on the bus who "appeared OK."
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.
A pole camera from the area showed the bus was headed east on Burleigh and had the green light when Sutters' car, headed south on Sherman, ran a red light and almost hit a pedestrian before crashing into the bus. Video from onboard the bus also showed the car run the red light, almost hitting the pedestrian, before hitting the bus. It also showed the boy in the front seat at the time of the crash.
Officers noted all three seatbelts in the backseat of Sutters' car were fastened, and there was not a child seat of any kind inside. The complaint states Sutters also admitted she did not have a valid driver's license and only had a permit in 2018.