Driver accused in crash that killed two men near Sherman & Roosevelt has now been charged
MILWAUKEE COUNTY -- The first of two women taken into custody following a crash that killed two men near Sherman and Roosevelt on December 30th has now been charged.
Jasmine Ray
The accused is 23-year-old Jasmine Ray of Milwaukee. She is facing three charges -- two counts of second degree reckless homicide, and one count of hit-and-run resulting in death.
59-year-old Darrell Thompson and 57-year-old Terry Jackson were killed in the crash.
The crash occurred around 9:30 a.m.
Two vehicles were involved in the crash -- a 2003 Kia Sorento and a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. Police initially said just after the crash that the vehicle the two women were in was stolen.
Police said initially that the vehicle refused to stop when an officer attempted to pull the women over.
Police said initially the SUV fled and eventually struck a tan four-door sedan at Sherman and Roosevelt.
Jackson and Thompson were killed.
Darrell Thompson and Terry Jackson
The Kia was found with substantial front end damage, and the Malibu had a large intrusion into the driver's side of the vehicle.
Fatal crash near Sherman & Roosevelt
Jackson and Thompson were in the Malibu. Jackson was driving, and Thompson was the front seat passenger. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Jasmine Ray and another women were arrested at the scene -- and transported from the scene for medical assistance.
An autopsy determined Jackson and Thompson died as a result of multiple blunt force injuries suffered during the crash.
According to the complaint, at the hospital, it was determined Ray had suffered an injury to her chest and a shattered right ankle.
The complaint says the Kia's brake pedal was bent inwards toward the firewall -- indicative of a driver making a hard brake application.
Fatal crash near Sherman & Roosevelt
A citizen witness told police he was stopped at a red light at Sherman Boulevard on the morning of December 30th. As he prepared to turn southbound onto Sherman with a green light, he observed a vehicle headed north on Sherman going "100 miles per hour." This witness indicated a vehicle to his right entered the intersection and was struck by the vehicle headed north. The witness ran up to the vehicle that had been headed north, and he told police he observed two women exit the vehicle -- one running to a detached garage near Roosevelt Drive, where she laid down in the snow between a parked vehicle and the garage. This woman was later identified as Jasmine Ray.
Police interviewed Jasmine Ray, and according to the complaint, she indicated someone else was driving the Kia, but upon learning two people had died in the crash, she admitted to being the driver of the Kia. Ray indicated she was going 75 to 80 miles-per-hour at the time of the crash. She said she wasn't fleeing from police, and said she hadn't seen any police vehicles before the crash.
Fatal crash near Sherman & Roosevelt
According to the complaint, Ray said she initially lied about what happened because she was too young to go to jail for murder.
Ray told police she has never obtained a driver's license.
The complaint makes reference to a 2011 case charging Ray with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. She was released on bail, but failed to appear in court in August 2012, and that case is currently in bench warrant status.