Crime & Safety
Man Charged In Fatal Wauwatosa Crash
Police say the driver of a vehicle fled a police traffic stop, and ended up crashing into a woman's car, killing her on the scene.
WAUWATOSA, WI — Authorities say the man responsible for colliding head-on with the vehicle of an 85-year-old woman, causing her death, has been charged in court.
Authorities say that Marcedes Deshay Craigs, 23, Milwaukee, was the person responsible for driving his vehicle across the centerline of N. 82nd Street, colliding with a vehicle driven by Patricia A. Graham, 85. Graham was killed in the crash.
Craigs has been charged with fleeing a police officer resulting in the death of another, second-degree reckless homicide and operating a motor vehicle while suspended - causing death.
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If convicted on all three counts, Craigs faces up to 28 years behind bars or up to $160,000 in fines or both.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County, Craigs was driving a black Audi A4, and had pulled over during a traffic stop on the 9000 block of W. North Ave., only to have Craigs accelerate away from the traffic stop.
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The criminal complaint stated that Craigs took his Audi A4 east on W. North Ave., and failed to stop for red traffic signals. As police approached the intersection of 82nd St. and North Ave., they saw that Craigs had been involved in an accident with a red Dodge Caravan and a tan Cadillac.
The complaint stated that Craigs was found on the road about 10 feet from the vehicle, laying down and in obvious pain, as he was yelling for help. Officers noted that Craigs had a three-to-four-inch-wide hole in his right forearm, a severe right leg injury with multiple fractures and bones protruding through the skin. He was conveyed to the hospital where he is in recovery.
According to the criminal complaint, Graham was found pinned on the floorboard of the van between the driver's seat and the door. She was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Wauwatosa police, the Wisconsin State Patrol, Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office and the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office are all involved in the case.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the incarceration status of the suspect in this case. That point has been corrected.
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