Milwaukee crash involving police squad; accused driver had child in SUV

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Caraya Carter

MILWAUKEE - A 26-year-old Milwaukee woman is accused of driving drunk with a 4-year-old child in her SUV, and then crashing into a police squad. The accused is Caraya Carter – and she faces the following criminal counts: 

• Operating while intoxicated causing injury
• Neglecting a child

Crash involving Milwaukee police squad

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were dispatched on Saturday, Oct. 4 to a vehicle crash at 14th and Greenfield on the city's south side. When officers arrived on the scene, they found an SUV and a Milwaukee police squad, both with severe damage. The SUV had front-end damage. The squad had significant damage to its side, with airbags deployed.

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The defendant was the driver of the SUV and "admitted she had been operating the Trailblazer" with a 4-year-old child as a passenger, the complaint says. When asked about the crash, "Carter stated she had trouble remembering what happened," the complaint says. An officer asked if she had hit her head. Carter responded, "I have been intoxicated a lot of times going home," the complaint says. When the officer asked if she was intoxicated at that moment, the complaint says she replied, "I believe so."

The officer "detected an odor of intoxicants, observed that (Carter's) eyes were bloodshot, and noted her speech was slow. (The officer) checked the Trailblazer for a child safety seat and found none installed," the complaint says.

According to the criminal complaint, Carter refused to perform field sobriety tests and refused a voluntary blood draw. A warrant was later obtained to get that blood draw. Results remain pending.

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Officer injured

Dig deeper:

The driver of the Milwaukee police squad was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries to his leg, head and general body pain. 

The officer indicated he was traveling through the intersection with the right of way and the SUV "entered the intersection from a cross street and T-boned his squad car," the complaint says.

Initial appearance

What's next:

The court ordered a $2,500 signature bond for Carter when she made her initial appearance on Oct. 9. She's due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 23.