Cedarburg woman charged in crash that killed passenger police said was hanging from window of SUV
Tess Monty
MILWAUKEE -- A Cedarburg woman faces charges after prosecutors said she was driving a vehicle that crashed into another vehicle while en route to a protest march in Milwaukee. The crash, which happened Thursday evening, June 4, near 6th Street and Locust Street killed a passenger in the woman's vehicle.
Tess Monty, 22, faces two counts:
Scene of fatal crash near 6th and Locust
According to a criminal complaint, on the evening of June 4, officers spotted a silver Honda Pilot which had seven occupants near MLK Drive and Center Street, with one person hanging out a window on the driver's side and several individuals hanging out the sunroof. The complaint said the driver went through a red light west on Center -- and at this point, the officers used their PA system in their squad to order the occupants back inside the vehicle. They did not follow those commands. The officers made a U-turn, and prosecutors said Monty, who was driving the Pilot, increased her speed north on 6th Street, traveling at an estimated 50 to 60 miles per hour with all occupants back inside except one person hanging from the rear on the driver's side.
The complaint said officers turned off their lights and sirens, as this was going to be a "non-pursuit," and soon noticed the crash at 6th and Locust. That's where the Pilot struck a Mini Cooper.
Scene of fatal crash near 6th and Locust
According to prosecutors, nearby officers rushed to the scene and pulled the person hanging out the window from the damaged SUV. That passenger was not conscious or breathing, and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Monty was captured in body camera video exiting the driver's seat of the SUV, the complaint said.
One of her passengers told investigators they were headed to a protest march near 27th Street and Center Street when they noticed the police, and others in the vehicle began "yelling and freaking out." The passenger said he wasn't sure how fast they were going, but said he was pulled from the SUV after the crash, the complaint said.
Scene of fatal crash near 6th and Locust
Another passenger told investigators he told Monty to slow down -- and never saw "the vehicle that hit them."
The driver of the Mini Cooper was taken to the hospital from the scene of the crash for treatment of injuries.