Milwaukee hit-and-run crash kills pastor's wife, man now charged

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Donte Miller

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is now charged in a hit-and-run crash that killed a pastor's wife and injured her grandson in January.

Charges filed

In Court:

FOX6 News previously reported that multiple court documents named 30-year-old Donte Miller as a suspect in the case. Now, months after the crash that killed Beverly Fair, he's been formally charged.

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Prosecutors accuse Miller of second-degree reckless homicide and hit-and-run, among other crimes. His bond was set at $150,000, and a competency exam was ordered, during his initial appearance on Friday.

Beverly Fair

34th and Lloyd crash

The backstory:

Beverly Fair, 70, and her grandson had left a loved one's house on Jan. 4 when a speeding car hit their SUV near 34th and Lloyd. Fair died, and her grandson was injured.

FOX6 News obtained surveillance video that showed a portion of the hit-and-run crash. It showed at least one car going into the front yard of a home. There was debris and car parts all over the street; the impact from the crash was so forceful, debris even landed on a nearby front porch.

Police at crash scene near 34th and Lloyd

According to a criminal complaint, officers had spotted the car speeding and driving without a front license plate near 35th and Vine. Officers tried to catch up to the car and turned on their lights and sirens, but temporarily lost sight of the car. When they regained sight of it, it had already crashed into the SUV.

Court filings said the driver, identified as Miller, fled the scene. He abandoned the car with the keys still in the ignition and his cellphone inside. The car had a Minnesota license plate that was not registered to the vehicle. However, a VIN search listed it to Miller – who was already a known suspect in a 2023 police chase.

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Milwaukee hit-and-run crash, 34th and Lloyd; suspect's criminal history

He is a suspect in a crash that killed a pastor's wife. Now, additional charges have been filed against the man police say has a history of reckless driving.

Investigators later searched Miller's apartment and found "car papers" and documents pertinent to the vehicle that had been abandoned at the crash scene, according to the complaint. DNA evidence collected from the car was found to be "consistent with" Miller being the driver at the time of the crash as well.

Further, the complaint states Miller did not have a valid driver's license at the time of the crash. Records also showed his operating privileges had been suspended in September 2024 for reasons related to a 2022 crash in which Miller is accused of fleeing police.