Milwaukee 16th Street Viaduct fatal crash, prison for driver

MILWAUKEE - Christian Castro-Veloz, 20, of Milwaukee, was sentenced to prison after he killed a man and injured several others while driving with a suspended license.

Castro-Veloz in December 2022 pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree reckless homicide and one count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety. He was sentenced to six years and six months in prison on each count, to be served concurrently, along with a total of 10 years' extended supervision.

The crash happened on March 5, 2021, on the 16th Street viaduct.

Just before 8:30 p.m., Castro-Veloz ran a red light and hit another vehicle that was making a U-turn. There were seven people in that vehicle. One was ejected from the vehicle as a result of the crash. A 42-year-old Waukegan, Illinois man was killed and a 36-year-old Waukegan man was seriously injured. Five others were also hurt.

Milwaukee 16th Street Viaduct fatal crash

Castro-Veloz also sustained serious injuries and was arrested at the hospital. 

 Castro-Veloz admitted he was driving and saw that the light was about to turn yellow, and the other vehicle began its U-turn, but he was unable to stop. Surveillance video contradicted the timing of events. 

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Castro-Veloz also claimed to have been driving 40-45 mph "at most." However, information retrieved from his vehicle after the crash showed he was traveling as fast as 73 mph seconds before the crash and was going 63 mph at impact, just after hitting the brakes. The speed limit is 30 mph.

His license was suspended on Aug. 28, 2020.