Milwaukee hit-and-run; boy on bike killed, man pleads not guilty
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee man charged with reckless homicide in connection with the Aug. 27 fatal hit-and-run of 11-year-old Tyrone Reese Jr. pleaded not guilty to the charges against him on Friday, Sept. 8.
In court Friday, Sylvester Thomas waived his right to a preliminary hearing – and the court found probable cause to bind Thomas over for trial. Thomas' defense then entered the not guilty plea on his behalf.
Case details
Prosecutors say Thomas, 30, may have been racing another car when he hit the boy near Fond du Lac and Capitol.
Tyrone Reese Jr.; Sylvester Thomas
Police were called to the scene around 3:15 p.m. that Sunday. Fire department personnel were already performing CPR on Reese when officers arrived. The boy was taken to a hospital with severe injuries and died of those injuries on Aug. 30.
A witness told police he saw two cars – a white Lexus and a black Dodge – speeding down Fond du Lac and "believed them to be racing," a criminal complaint states. The witness said he saw the Dodge swerve to avoid a Reese, who was riding his bike, before the Lexus hit the 11-year-old.
Another witness told police, per the complaint, that he saw the same two cars speeding down Fond du Lac before the Lexus hit Reese.
Police spoke to the driver of the Dodge. He told police, the complaint states, that he was driving down Fond du Lac and saw two boys riding their bikes and heard a "loud bang" after he passed them. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw one of the boys and a bike "fly into the air." He then saw a Lexus pass him, and said he decided to follow it because he thought the Lexus hit the boy. He also took a picture of the Lexus – which captured the license plate.
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Later, the complaint states the Dodge driver told police he saw the Lexus stop. A man got out of the passenger side, and the Dodge driver said he went back to the crash scene as the Lexus drove away. The Dodge driver said he saw the man who got out of the Lexus walking toward the crash scene.
The passenger who had gotten out of the Lexus told police that the Challenger pulled up next to them at a stoplight near 51st and Fond du Lac and "was trying to race." When the light turned green, they sped off.
Hit-and-run scene on W. Fond du Lac Avenue, Milwaukee
Police watched surveillance from the area of the crash which showed the Lexus and Dodge driving east on Fond du Lac moments before Reese was hit. Both cars were driving toward where Reese was hit, the complaint states, at "speeds that were obviously much faster than other cars driving on the street." The speed limit where the crash happened is 30 mph.
Thomas turned himself in on Aug. 28 and told police he was the driver of the Lexus, per the complaint. He told investigators he thought the Challenger hit the boy first and that he only hit the 11-year-old after. However, the Challenger had no damage that "would be consistent with having hit" the boy.
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The complaint states Thomas' car, meanwhile, had "severe front end damage including a crushed front hood." The Lexus' windshield was also smashed and "what appeared to be marks from the crank of a bicycle on the hood."
Thomas is charged with second-degree reckless homicide and hit-and-run (resulting in death).