Milwaukee fatal hit-and-run crash sparks safety demands at intersection
Deadly Milwaukee hit-and-run sparks calls to address reckless driving
A hit-and-run on Milwaukee's Teutonia Avenue killed a 24-year-old and injured another person who tried to help. Nearby residents are demanding speed humps, stop signs, and traffic-calming measures near a nearby school.
MILWAUKEE - A deadly hit-and-run at Teutonia and Ruby is raising new questions about safety at that intersection. Alderwoman Andrea Pratt said she continues to fight for solutions to curb reckless driving along Teutonia Avenue.
Records show in the past five years, three people have died after being hit by a car there. That does not include what happened on Monday night.
Fatal hit-and-run
The backstory:
Milwaukee police said a 24-year-old pedestrian was hit by a vehicle around 11:15 p.m. The driver drove off. A 44-year-old witness went to help the pedestrian, but that is when a second vehicle came and hit both of them. The 44-year-old is expected to be okay, but the 24-year-old pedestrian died at the scene.
Pratt said work such as cutting down trees, adding more lights, and speed humps have happened in the area, but says more needs to be done.
Pratt said the Common Council recently approved new funding to add raised crosswalks.
2012 fatal crash
What we know:
One Milwaukee family knows those dangers all too well after their 5-year-old son was hit by a car there in 2012.
What they're saying:
"My sister, she tells me stories and stuff about what happened and what she remembered, but honestly I don’t remember nothing, it was all like a dream to me," said Robert Torres Jr., a hit-and-run victim who was hit by a vehicle when he was 5 years old at the same intersection in 2012.
"My daughter was about seven at the time, came running in the door, and she said ‘Mom, Robert been hit’ and I took off out the house, I ran out there and he was just laying in the street," said Roneeka Johnson, mother of Torres Jr. "You never get over it, to this day I cannot drive down that street. I will avoid going that direction, I will go out the way not to go down Teutonia."
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"If it means the person driving recklessly doesn’t get to have a car, if it means the person who drives recklessly doesn’t get to have a license, I am more than willing to accept that over having to go to a funeral for a 24-year-old who was just trying to cross the street and get home," said Pratt.
Pratt said raised crosswalks will be implemented within the year, but area changes made locally or at the Common Council level will not matter if drivers are not held accountable by law enforcement.
FOX6 News reached out to Milwaukee police and has not heard back.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Andrew Amouzou and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Milwaukee Alderwoman Andrea Pratt, hit-and-run victim Robert Torres Jr., hit-and-run victim mother Roneeka Johnson and Milwaukee police.