West Milwaukee police chase ends in fatal crash, 19-year-old charged

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Johnatan Prado (top left) appeared for his initial appearance via videoconferencing from the hospital

MILWAUKEE - A man has been criminally charged in connection to a West Milwaukee police chase that ended in a fatal crash back on Jan. 4, 2026.

19-year-old Johnatan Prado is accused of fleeing from police and crashing the vehicle, severely injuring himself and killing 18-year-old Izack Zavala who was also in the vehicle.

Prado has been charged with 2nd-degree reckless homicide and operator fleeing/eluding an officer resulting in death, both of which are felonies.

Overnight chase and crash

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, at about 1:20 a.m., a West Milwaukee police officer saw a black Honda Civic run a red light near Miller Park Way and Lincoln. The officer then saw the Civic stop in the middle of the intersection and then turn onto Miller Park Way.

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The officer turned on his squad lights and sirens in an attempt to pull the vehicle over, but it instead sped away north on Miller Park Way. The Civic pulled away from the squad vehicle during the chase, which was already at speeds above 80 mph.

The Civic crashed into a roundabout median at 36th and Mitchell, went airborne, and then crashed into a tree.

The police officer came to the scene and saw two men had been ejected from the vehicle, which had started on fire. Other officers arrived on scene to provide medical care to both men. One of those men, later identified as the victim, Izack Zavala, was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Zavala sustained serious and fatal injuries from the crash, including fractured ribs and a fractured femur, lacerations, and a severed spinal cord.

Interview with the defendant

What we know:

The complaint goes on to say that police interviewed the defendant, Johnatan Prado, in the hospital. Prado was also severely injured, having a broken nose, fractured pelvis, fractured femurs, and a fractured tibia among other injuries.

Prado told police that Zavala was his cousin, and that he (Prado) was the one who was driving that night with Zavala in the vehicle riding as a passenger. Prado said he saw the police lights behind him that night, but had no memory of the crash.

Records indicate that the Civic was registered to Prado's mom.

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Court proceedings

What's next:

Prado had his initial appearance in Milwaukee County Circuit Court scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 8.

Prado appeared via videoconferencing from the hospital with his lawyer, but he was not lucid enough for the proceedings, so the judge adjourned the initial appearance to a later date and time.