MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee man was charged Monday in connection to a hit-and-run that left a mother of four and her dog dead in October.
Calvin Eugene Gardner was charged with one felony count of hit and run - resulting in death.
The deadly hit and run happened on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, near Appleton and Silver Spring. Police say a 40-year-old woman, Nicki Blanck Bohringer, was hit by a driver while walking her dog around 11:05 p.m. The mother of four was pronounced dead at the scene. Her dog also later died from its injuries.
According to the criminal complaint, debris was found in the roadway, including a piece of Carvana license plate bracket. Police officers found a Buick Verano in a motel parking lot with front-end damage consistent with having hit a person, as well as missing the front license plate. Gardner was listed as the owner of the vehicle.
A witness said she saw the vehicle with front end damage and thought it had been involved in a collision and abandoned, the complaint says. She then saw a man standing on the sidewalk who "appeared to be smoking 'nervously.'"
Turning the block, the witness found Bohringer and her dog in the roadway. When she tried to stop traffic, a vehicle came and hit the victim. The witness believed the victim was hit twice, the first time by the vehicle later determined to belong to Garnder.
The witness then saw the male, later identified as Garnder, get into the car and move it to the motel parking lot where police found it.
On June 3, the complaint says Gardner admitted the vehicle belonged to him. He claimed his car had been stolen while he was dropping his girlfriend off near Lover's Lane and Silver Spring. He said he did not file a report and denied driving the car and hitting anyone.
The complaint says he changed portions of his statement after being made aware of motel security footage from that day. The footage captured a man driving a sedan into the parking lot and then getting out and observing the damages. Gardner admitted he was the driver in the video. He claimed after his car was stolen, he was walking down Silver Spring when he found his car. He said it wouldn't work so he pushed it to the motel.
Gardner told authorities he saw the victim and dog in the roadway and saw the damage to his vehicle, but didn't know his car was involved, according to the complaint.
A cash bond of $5,000 was set for Gardner on Tuesday. He returns to court on June 12 for a preliminary hearing. If convicted, Gardner faces a maximum of 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
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