Woman, 2 kids hurt after crash at 34th and Greenfield; driver in custody

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee police say three people were hurt after a serious crash near 34th and Greenfield on the city's south side on Monday, March 8. 

Officials say the wreck happened when the driver attempted to pass another vehicle at a high rate of speed when he lost control. The driver's vehicle then struck an unoccupied parked vehicle. 

"We were sitting at the table eating lunch and we heard a big boom, but really loud..." Rosemary Guzman said. "And I ran to see what it was and I told my husband, ‘Let me get the phone, it’s a bad accident.'"

The victims — all in the striking vehicle — include a 3 1/2-month-old girl who suffered critical injuries — as well as a 27-year-old woman and 4-year-old girl — both suffered serious injuries.

"The kids shouldn’t have to go through this," she said.

Before paramedics arrived, Guzman says a good Samaritan pulled the children from the car. 

To comfort them amid the chaos, she brought them into her home until an ambulance got to the scene.

"When I brought them in, I laid the little one on my loveseat and my other one was in the car seat and the lady took her out, and I go, ‘She’s not even strapped in!’ No straps at all, and she wasn’t breathing," Guzman said.

Captain David Salazar with MPD says the crash, and the injuries that followed were avoidable.

"It absolutely defies logic why you would have children in a vehicle driving at that speed, unrestrained," he said.

And is pleading with the public to curb reckless driving. 

"This is the exact kind of behaviors that we are working to address and reduce in the City of Milwaukee," Capt. Salazar said. "Please slow down."

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Officials say the driver of the vehicle -- a 35-year-old Milwaukee man -- was not hurt in the wreck. He is expected to face charges of OWI, causing great bodily harm. 

Milwaukee police say this incident is typical of the reckless driving incidents they have seen in recent months. If you see an incident of reckless driving, you are urged to call Milwaukee police. You can also visit their Traffic Safety Unit website at https://mpdtsu.org/.