Police Chief Jeffrey Norman was injured in a car accident earlier this week. He was a passenger in the police squad driven by a 56-year-old male officer. Their vehicle was struck from behind at a traffic light at 68th and Silver Springs Drive. Witnesses at the scene state the chief got out of the squad and set on the curb. One subject asked the chief was he okay. The chief responded that his back was hurt, and he was holding his head. Both were conveyed to the hospital for treatment. The striking driver did stay on the scene and was cooperating with the investigation. The chief was just leaving the District Four police station attending a reckless driving meeting and news conference with the mayor and several aldermen. The Milwaukee County Sheriff is investigating the accident. Mayor Johnson stated, “we did not need this type of reminder that all drivers need to slow down and increase caution on our roadways.”
One reason for the news conference was a crash that killed three women last week on the northside. A vehicle ran a flashing red light before the collision. The suspect was arrested. This was the fifth fatal crash in the past week or so. A total of seven people has died in those crashes. Officials at the news conference attributed the recent deaths to reckless driving and speeding. At the news conference Chief Norman said work by city officials continues to make a difference in reckless driving. He also stated everyone in the community needed to be involved in addressing the problem. Another reason for the news conference was to expand the law signed this past spring in Madison regarding towing vehicles. The vehicle must be owned by the driver and that driver must have outstanding fines related to reckless driving. Milwaukee officials want those restrictions removed. “It signals that the city’s intent to treat reckless driving as a criminal act deserving of consequences,” Common Council President Jose Perez said on expanding the towing law.
Reckless driving has emerged as one of the city’s pressing safety issues. Deaths and injuries have gone up in the past several years. In 2021, 67 people were killed in crashes, in 2022, 77 deaths and so far, this year 67. The mayor added, “we cannot, and we will not, accept the current frequency of reckless driving that we are seeing in our community”.
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