Milwaukee woman was driving 102 mph when she caused deadly crash, prosecutors say
A 32-year-old Milwaukee woman was driving 102 mph in a 35 mph zone when she caused a three-car crash, prosecutors said, killing a woman and injuring two other people.
Milwaukee County prosecutors charged A'Jena K. B. Wynn-Howard with first-degree reckless homicide and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety in the May 10 crash that killed Tonya Missouri-Smith, 55.
According to the criminal complaint:
Just before midnight on North 76th Street, Wynn-Howard crashed into the back of Missouri-Smith's Chevrolet Traverse, which then crashed into a parked Jeep Patriot. The Jeep Patriot was occupied by a 28-year-old woman, and the crash turned it onto its side.
Missouri-Smith and her 18-year-old son were on their way to their family business to close it for the night. She was turning right onto North 76th Street when the crash occurred. Missouri-Smith suffered several blunt-force trauma injuries, including brain bleeding, a severed spinal cord and broken ribs, and she died at the scene.
Her son continued to have hip pain from the crash. The woman in the parked Jeep Patriot suffered brain bleeding and fractured vertebrae.
Wynn-Howard climbed into the back seat of a squad car belonging to an officer who was redirecting traffic and apparently fell asleep. When the officer discovered her, prosecutors say she said, "That's my car, I crashed."
According to prosecutors, she also said, "Take me to jail. I crashed that car," and "Did I kill anybody?"
Data from the airbag monitor showed that five seconds before the crash, Wynn-Howard was driving 96 mph and increased in the seconds before the crash.
A Milwaukee County court commissioner set bond at $40,000 on May 15. Wynn-Howard faces up to 85 years in prison if convicted of all three felony counts.
More: Milwaukee sees promising dip in crime to start 2025: 'I want crime to be rare.'
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee woman drove 102 mph before fatal 76th St. crash, charges say
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