Man arrested for OWI with 11-year-old passenger hours before fight on freeway after OWI crash

MILWAUKEE COUNTY -- A Milwaukee man was arrested for OWI, first offense, with a minor child in his vehicle Saturday, March 10, hours before there was a fight on the freeway following an OWI crash.

The first incident happened around 4:30 a.m. on I-43 southbound near the Becher St. off-ramp.

According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, the man, 41, was found slumped over the steering wheel of his vehicle. He woke up when a deputy approached. It was determined that a child, 11, was asleep in the back seat.

The man tested at a .089 on a preliminary breath test and he was arrested for OWI, first offense with a minor child in his vehicle. Sheriff's officials say he indicated he had two beers at a friend's house.

The child was picked up by his mother around 6:30 a.m. after that was approved by a social worker with Child Protective Services.

“Once again an adult puts a young child in harm’s way and through a frightening experience by driving drunk and passing out. One way to reduce childhood trauma is for adults to follow the law and drive sober," said Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt in a news release.

On Saturday night, around 10:15 p.m., a crash occurred on I-43 near W. Fond du Lac involving two vehicles, each with two occupants.

Sheriff's officials said the driver of an Impala was found to have red, glassy eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol. She was asked to exit her vehicle and perform field sobriety tests. As this was taking place, sheriff's officials say the occupants of a Trailblazer got out of their vehicle and "began yelling obscenities" at the woman performing the field sobriety tests. A passenger from the Impala, 16, got out and began fighting with the passenger of the Trailblazer.

A deputy had to draw his Taser and the first two complied with orders to stop fighting.

Additional deputies were needed to separate the two in the second fight.

Three required medical attention due to injuries resulting from the fight.

The driver of the Impala, a woman, 34, from Milwaukee was arrested for OWI, first offense after she tested .13 on a preliminary breath test. She faces charges of battery, resisting an officer and disorderly conduct.

The juvenile was taken to the Children's Detention Center and will face charges of battery and disorderly conduct.

The driver of the Trailblazer, a woman, 23, from Milwaukee faces charges of battery and disorderly conduct.

The Trailblazer's passenger, a woman, 26, from Milwaukee faces a charge of physical abuse of a child.

Sheriff's officials said a total of 19 people were arrested during weekend Operation Drive Sober patrols, in addition with the three arrested for fighting on the freeway.