Milwaukee fatal crash near 94th and Wilbur, Greenfield man charged

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William Lee

MILWAUKEE - Prosecutors have charged a 60-year-old Greenfield man with first-degree reckless homicide in connection with a deadly crash in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, Jan. 13. The accused is William Lee.

Case details

The backstory:

According to the criminal complaint, on Jan. 13, shortly before 7 p.m. a Milwaukee police officer was dispatched to 94th and Wilbur for a crash.

When the officer arrived, he saw firefighters from multiple jurisdictions surrounding a 2023 black Nissan Rogue in the middle of the street on W. Wilbur Avenue.

The officer reports the Nissan had front end damage and a scrap metal debris trail that led to a tree which appeared to have been struck by the Nissan. 

94th and Wilbur, Milwaukee

Firefighters had to extricate William Lee from the driver's seat. The front passenger of the Nissan, identified by the medical examiner as Elaine Corbitt, was removed from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene. 

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During a post-crash interview, investigators say Lee stated that he had consumed "a couple of beers" around 3 p.m., the complaint states. 

Per the complaint, Standardized Field Sobriety Tests were administered – and Lee showed signs of impairment on the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus1. A sample of Lee's blood was drawn and sent to the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory for analysis.

94th and Wilbur, Milwaukee

Witness statement

What they're saying:

According to the criminal complaint, a witness told police at approximately 6:40 p.m. she was traveling northbound on S. 94th Street near Wilbur Avenue when she saw the Nissan traveling at a very high rate of speed. 

The witness told investigators she saw the vehicle swerve and hit a tree, get launched backwards into the middle of the street due to the force of the impact, before catching on fire. 

Crash scene investigation

Dig deeper:

Court filings say the debris field from the scene spanned almost an entire city block. 

According to the complaint, the hood from the Nissan was located approximately 115 feet away in the backyard of a residence. 

Milwaukee police also observed that a nearby residence had been struck by large vehicle parts that were contained within the engine compartment — which was approximately 75 feet away from where the Nissan was located.

94th and Wilbur, Milwaukee

Investigators downloaded the Nissan’s Event Data Recorder (EDR), and observed that the Nissan was traveling at 98.8 mph at the start of the crash, with Lee applying 100% throttle. 

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Police also observed that in the five seconds leading up to the crash, the Nissan’s brake was never engaged.

The crash occurred on a stretch of Wilbur Avenue that is an undivided, two-lane, residential area, with a posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour.