MILWAUKEE — Speed. It's a big part of Milwaukee's reckless driving problem.
That's one of the things TMJ4 has learned in the 7 months since launching Project: Drive Safer, our effort to curb reckless driving in Milwaukee.
Already this year, MPD officers have written around 700 tickets to drivers going at least 25 miles per hour above the speed limit. But dangerous speeds can have much more serious consequences.
According to MPD data, in 2022 there were 77 fatal crashes, and the department's Crash Reconstruction Unit responded to every single one.
There are just four members on this team and they're on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The Crash Reconstruction Unit is called to the site of deadly and serious crashes — to answer questions that no one else can. They use tire marks, debris, blood, and other clues to discover how the roadway, the people, and the vehicles involved contributed to the crash.
The information helps in criminal investigations but also provides closure.
"A lot of times it's just for closure for the family because these things happen in the dark — at 3:00 in the morning," explained Officer William Hanney. "No one saw what happened and we're able to put the pieces together so at least the family knows what led up to it, and what happened to their loved one who passed away in the crash."
MPD says speed is the number one factor leading to an increasing number of deadly crashes in the city. "It's not unusual for us to see speeds upwards of 100 miles per hour," said Sgt. Matthew Phillipson. "Vehicles can't sustain that impact. So obviously, the wreckage is pretty catastrophic."
"If you have a 2 or 3 vehicle crash that's spread over a city block, we can be out there for hours — trying to figure out which tire mark is from which car, then mapping it and photographing it," added Officer Hanney.
Despite that, the team spends the majority of its time at the morgue, at the crime lab, at the district attorney's office, at the evidence warehouse, or following up with witnesses.
All of that helps piece together the puzzle that forms in the wake of a serious crash.
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