Greenfield pursuit, car lot crash; man changes plea to guilty

GREENFIELD, Wis. - A Kenosha man charged in a Greenfield police chase and crash pleaded guilty to two felonies Wednesday, Oct. 18.

Aaron Kirksey, 28, had pleaded not guilty in May to the same two charges – second-degree recklessly endangering safety and fleeing/eluding an officer. He's due in court for sentencing in December.

According to a criminal complaint, a Greenfield police officer spotted two vehicles speeding down 27th Street near Cold Spring in February 2022. The officer's radar indicated the vehicles were traveling at 80 mph in a 40 mph zone. The officer then activated his lights and sirens to stop the vehicles.

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The complaint indicates one of the vehicles turned east on Layton Avenue while the other kept speeding away from the squad. Another officer set up stop sticks near 27th and Grange ot stop the fleeing vehicle, which had reached speeds around 100 mph.

As the fleeing vehicle approached the stop sticks, the complaint states the driver – since identified as Kirksey – "at the last second attempted to swerve to avoid hitting the stop sticks" and lost control. The officer was able to jump out of the way as the vehicle "went airborne into the power lines" and then crashed into multiple vehicles in a Rosen car lot.

According to the complaint, Kirksey tried to run off after the crash. He was ordered to the ground and eventually arrested – unaware of what he had hit. Kirksey was then taken to a hospital after complaining of pain, where he "became agitated, aggressive, and began to spit and threaten hospital staff and security," the complaint states.

Police searched the vehicle after the crash. The complaint states they found what was suspected to be marijuana behind the driver's seat and a handgun with one 9mm round in the chamber in the backseat.