River Hills police: Driver who died 2 days after crash on Brown Deer Road had drugs in system

RIVER HILLS -- We've learned one person died following a crash that happened back on June 17th in River Hills.  It happened on Brown Deer Road near Spruce Road.

According to police, at approximately 7:00 a.m., a vehicle was observed driving at a high rate of speed eastbound on Brown Deer Road. The vehicle suddenly crossed over the median, crossed westbound traffic and struck a fence and then a house. The vehicle abruptly left that area, circled onto the road and struck an electric pole on the other side of the property.

Due to conflicting reports on the type of injury suffered and how many occupants were in the vehicle, a thorough investigation was completed to ensure that nothing was missed. The Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation and the Wisconsin State Patrol both assisted with the investigation.

According to police, it was determined that during the initial part of the crash, the sole occupant of the vehicle was tossed from the driver's seat onto the passenger side of the vehicle. One of his sandals lodged between the gas pedal and center counsel area causing the pedal to be stuck to the floor. This caused the vehicle to accelerate back onto the roadway where it then struck the electric pole.



This coincides with witness statements that said it looked like there was no one driving the vehicle at that point.

An off-duty North Shore firefighter, who was one of the first people to stop and check on the vehicle/occupant, also reported that the engine was "racing."

On June 19th, the driver of the vehicle died due to injuries related to that accident.

The cause of the accident was determined to be speed and acute mixed drug intoxication (multiple drugs in his system).​