"Quite a nasty accident:" 18-year-old man who was thrown from stolen van during crash has died

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee police say an 18-year-old man seriously injured in a crash that occurred on Sunday, November 1st near 6th and Manitoba has died from his injuries at the hospital. The crash involved a stolen van, and police say the van's occupants may be responsible for a prior garage burglary.

Officials with the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office have identified the victim as Rashad Higgins.

Milwaukee police say four young people are in custody — accused of driving a stolen van, sideswiping a patrol car, and eventually crashing that van.

Higgins was the fifth occupant of that stolen van -- a backseat passenger who was not wearing a seat belt, according to the medical examiner's report.

Higgins was seriously injured when the stolen van slammed into a pole near 6th and Manitoba. He was pronounced dead on Sunday afternoon at Froedtert Hospital as a result of blunt force injuries to his head and neck. The manner of death has been ruled an accident in this case.

Police say this all began with a call regarding an entry to a vehicle near 1st Street and W. Norwich Street around 11:00 a.m. Sunday, November 1st.

Officers learned five suspects, who may be responsible for a garage burglary that occurred in the area, got into a stolen minivan — and then sideswiped a responding patrol car.

The suspects lost control of the van near 6th and Manitoba, and crashed into a pole. This, after the van apparently tried to pass another vehicle headed northbound.

The medical examiner's report indicates the stolen van was traveling at a speed of between 50 and 100 miles-per-hour at the time of the crash.

The posted speed limit in the area is 30 miles-per-hour, according to the medical examiner's report.

The impact of the crash resulted in the shearing off of the pole, and the vehicle was split in half.

"It was quite a nasty accident," said Mark Cooper, who lives nearby. "It was quite a high speed too. You could actually hear them coming up to the point of the accident. I could actually feel the force of it -- enough to make you jump. Speed was the worst thing they could have done in this area."

Four of the suspects (a 15-year-old boy, two 16-year-old boys and an 18-year-old man) fled the van — but officers were able to take them into custody.

Higgins was taken to the hospital -- where he was later pronounced dead.

MPD will present the case against the other four occupants of the stolen van to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office for charges in the coming days.