Three-car crash leaves one dead, four hurt in Milwaukee



MILWAUKEE -- 23-year-old Taquenda Daniels was killed, and four others were hurt after a three-car crash near 27th and St. Paul Avenue early Friday morning, May 4th.

Police say Daniels was driving a Kia minivan, traveling northbound on N. 27th St.  Witnesses tell police the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed and ran a red light.

The Kia collided with a black Lincoln LS. When those two cars collided, a third vehicle was struck.

Daniels was thrown from the van and pinned underneath. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The two other passengers in Daniels' vehicle were transported to the hospital and needed surgery. The drivers of the two other vehicles, the only occupants, were also taken to the hospital for what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries.

The Milwaukee Police Crash Reconstruction Unit will conduct a thorough investigation of the scene to determine what factors led to the crash.

The City Engineer for Milwaukee, Jeffrey Polenske, says a paving project is being designed for N. 27th St. from St. Paul to Highland. He says they're not doing the paving because of the accidents. They've actually been planning it for years.

Polenske believes the intersection is safe, but it's important that people follow the rules and drive safety.

"We can certainly design intersections to be as safe as possible, but ultimately, it comes down to the actual motorists and the decisions those motorists are making on how safe a particular intersection is going to be," Polenske said.

The intersection at 27th and St. Paul has a history of fatal crashes. On New Year's Day, a New Berlin couple was killed.   Officials say they had just left Potawatomi Bingo Casino and were stopped at a red light on St. Paul Avenue. 17-year-old Kelly Duke is accused in the hit-and-run crash that killed Ed and Jean Thaves.

Duke is set to stand trial in October for that crash.