Crash, fire near UW-Milwaukee; 4 cars involved after police chase

MILWAUKEE - A police chase led to a multi-car crash and fire on Milwaukee's east side Thursday morning, Dec. 7.

It happened near Cramer and Linnwood – just south of the UW-Milwaukee campus. UWM Police said a stolen vehicle was fleeing law enforcement and crashed into two parked vehicles and a third that was in motion.

"I got my friend, who was also inside, and was like, ‘You have to come check this out,’" said resident Alyssa Marceau. "I didn’t really know what to think. I guess I was just wondering how three cars got piled on top of each other, because I’ve never really seen anything like that." 

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Police said all four vehicles started on fire. As far as officers were aware, no one was hurt. The people in the stolen vehicle ran off after the crash.

"Apparently my friend saw it happen, he saw four people flee the white car that got into the whole crash. They went off running," said resident Elijah Knar.

Multi-car crash near Cramer and Linnwood (Courtesy: Brian Rayas)

Marceau told FOX6 News the crash comes after warnings from police about a rise in campus car thefts. After a scary scene, it's an outcome that could have been much worse.

"This happening right after is a weird coincidence," she said. "Hopefully the people who are stealing the cars learn something from this – and it doesn’t only affect yourself but also everyone else around you." 

Investigators said they are follwing up on several leads and are looking for four people who fled the scene.