Milwaukee fatal crash kills 3; 17-year-old now charged as well

MILWAUKEE - A 17-year-old has also been criminally charged in a crash that killed three members of a single family at 35th and Vliet on Sept. 16.

The accused is Dashauna Egerson, and she faces the following criminal counts:

• Second-Degree Reckless Homicide (3 counts)
• Operator Flee/Elude Officer Resulting in Death (3 counts)
• Knowingly Operate Without Valid License, Cause Death (3 counts)

19-year-old Milwaukee Trevon Loston was also charged with several felonies in connection to the chase, however, he was not charged with homicide, as prosecutors believe Egerson was the driver when the crash happened.

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If convicted on all charges, she faces 168 years in prison.

Police chase and crash

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were on patrol near Sherman and Center on Tuesday, Sept. 16. They spotted a white SUV "with no plates driving at a high rate of speed eastbound on Center."

The officers activated their lights and siren to conduct a traffic stop, but the driver of the vehicle did not stop. The complaint says instead, the driver "fled from the attempted traffic stop through a residential area, at speeds of 70 to 80 mph. The chase eventually came to a conclusion when the Dodge Journey went through a red light" at 35th and Vliet. The white SUV struck a car with five people inside. Three of those people were killed as a result of the crash. Two others were seriously hurt.

Officers immediately went to the vehicle, which had flipped and was resting on the driver’s side of the car, with the passenger side of the car in the air. Officers saw the defendant, Dashauna Egerson, climb out of the passenger's side window. She was then taken into custody.

While officers were attempting to pull people out of both vehicles to render aid, an officer was with Egerson who then yelled out, "who did I hit?" and then "who the **** did I hit?" However, shortly after those outbursts, Egerson told the officer that she had been a passenger and that Loston had been driving, per the complaint.

Investigators downloaded data from the vehicle's airbag control module, which showed that in the five seconds leading up to the crash, the vehicle's speed went from 66 mph to 70 mph with the gas pedal fully depressed.

The complaint notes that the speed limit on N. 35th Street is 30 mph.

Interview with the other passenger

What we know:

The complaint goes on to say that police interviewed the 16-year-old passenger in the Dodge Journey, who said that Trevon Loston was driving the vehicle when he picked them up and initially when the three of them had been driving around in Milwaukee. However, about 10 minutes before the police chase, Loston and Egerson switched seats, and Egerson was the one driving when the police attempted to pull them over.

Loston's statement

What we know:

Loston, who stated that on Sept. 16, he received a text message from Egerson earlier in the day to come pick her up and get her some liquor. Loston stated that after picking her up, he got tired of driving, so he pulled over and allowed her to take over driving the stolen car.

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Loston stated that the chase began "as soon as she pulled off and turned the corner." Loston stated that Egerson was driving during the fatal fleeing from police, but admitted that he was "guiding" her on how to drive during the chase.

Egerson's statement

What we know:

After her original outbursts, Egerson told officers and detectives that Loston was the driver.

Eventually, after detectives explained that her description of who was driving was inconsistent with the manner in which the bodies were found as well as her own prior statements, she then told detectives that she would tell the truth and said she was the driver.

Per the criminal complaint, she stated that when she began to drive, she did not know it was a stolen vehicle, but fled because she found out she was driving a stolen vehicle. She said she only learned this after the police activated their emergency lights. 

Egerson then stated that she crashed on purpose so that she would not have to keep speeding. She said that Loston was yelling at her to keep going. She stated that if the car was not stolen, she would have pulled over. She then said Loston pointed a gun at her, and that was why she continued to flee.

According to the complaint, Egerson stated that she saw the other vehicle coming and pushed the gas pedal harder because she knew it was going to be a crash and she "let the *********** hit." She also admitted that she knew she went through a red light.