Father Steals Son's Car, Drives nearly 100 MPH on the Road, 50 MPH on Wauwatosa Sidewalks

WAUWATOSA -- A father who stole his son's car is accused of leading Wauwatosa police on a chase, at times reaching nearly 100 MPH on the road - and 50 MPH on the sidewalk.

Lucas Byrd, 40, of Milwaukee was arrested and charged with fleeing an officer second-degree recklessly endangering safety, obstructing an officer, and operating a vehicle while revoked.

If convicted, Byrd could face up to 8 years in prison on the felony charges or up to $45,000 in fines, or both. Byrd is currently being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on a $15,000 cash bond.

According to his criminal complaint, a Wauwatosa police officer was driving in the village when he observed a blue Chevrolet Lumina passing his squad car.

The driver, later identified as Byrd, was trying to shield his face from the officer as he drove south on W. Hampton Ave. between N. Mayfair Rd. and N. 100th St. on Aug. 17, police said.

The officer ran the vehicle's plates and learned the Lumina had been reported stolen five days earlier. The officer began following the vehicle, driven by Byrd, and initiated a traffic stop, the complaint said.

According to the criminal comlaint, Byrd indicated he was going to pull over, however, he rolled through the stop sign on W. Appleton Ave. and quickly accelerated, fleeing southeast on W. Appleton Ave. from W. Silver Spring Drive at about 80 MPH.

After a pursuit, Byrd took his stolen Lumina up to 97 MPH westbound on W. Hampton Ave. Upon approaching N. 107th St., Byrd applied the Lumina’s brakes so hard it caused the brakes to lock up, the complaint said.

The officer observed the Lumina was traveling too fast to make the left turn onto N. 110th St., so the Lumina drove up and over the curb and onto the lawn of the property at the southwest corner of the intersection, the complaint said.

Byrd's vehicle corrected itself and re-entered the roadway, turning eastbound onto W. Derby Ave., then back northbound onto N. 107th St., still actively fleeing from police police said.

According to the complaint, as Byrd approached W. Hampton Ave., the Lumina entered the parking lot of PK’s pantry. The Lumina continued to flee through the parking lot and instead of trying to re-enter the roadway at W. Hampton Ave., Byrd drove onto the sidewalk, westbound, at approximately 45-50mph.

It wasn't too much later that Byrd began to lose control of his vehicle, striking a street sign, finally coming to rest on the curb, lawn and sidewalk, police said.

According to the criminal complaint, Wauwatosa Police set up a perimeter on the 10900 block of Derby Ave. after Byrd fled the vehicle on foot, where he was taken into custody.

While in custody, Byrd reportedly "didn't have much to say," and said he was going to prison anyway. According to court records, Byrd was currently on probation and had an active warrant for his arrest.