Milwaukee Man Crashes Car With Unrestrained Infant: Police

WISCONSIN—A 34-year-old City of Milwaukee man faces charges of 4th offense OWI, OWI causing great bodily harm, fleeing, and 1st degree reckless endangering safety charges after an incident that began in the Town of Polk on Sunday, according to a Washington County Sheriff's Office release.

A Washington County sheriff’s deputy on patrol noticed a car parked on the side of State Highway 60 near Hillside Road in the Town of Polk around midnight with their hazard lights on.

The deputy stopped to see if the driver needed any assistance. The deputy saw that the driver appeared to be passed out in the lap of a woman passenger, police said. A second deputy observed a one-year-old who was sleeping, lying down in the backseat of the car, unrestrained, police said.

Deputies also learned that the driver was wanted by the United States Marshal's Office on outstanding weapons charges and had several prior OWI convictions, police said.

Deputies asked the driver to step out of the car. The driver refused and sped off in the car, police said.

Based on the fact that there was a small unrestrained child in the car as well as another passenger, the deputies decided not pursue the car in hopes that the driver would slow down and reduce the risk to the passengers, police said.

A deputy that was in the area observed the car traveling at around 100mph even though police were not chasing him.

As the car entered the Village of Jackson on STH 60, the suspect failed to negotiate a roundabout and crashed into a marshy area. The suspect fled the car on foot leaving his passenger critically injured in the car, as well as the unrestrained infant, police said.

Drones were used and deputies quickly located the suspect, police said.

The suspect refused to come out of the marsh. With assistance from the Germantown Police Department K9 Unit, the suspect eventually surrendered without further incident, police said.

The woman passenger and her infant son were transported by Jackson Rescue to a local hospital. Miraculously, the infant was uninjured and released from the hospital. The adult passenger remains hospitalized with serious injuries as a result of the crash, police said.

The car accident remains under investigation by the Village of Jackson Police.