27th and Locust fatal crash, Milwaukee man sentenced
Jaquon Benson
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man convicted in a crash that killed a father of four was sentenced on Thursday to 18 years in prison.
Court records show 26-year-old Jaquon Benson pleaded guilty in December to second-degree reckless homicide, second-degree reckless injury and possession of a machine gun. As part of a plea deal, additional felony charges were dismissed.
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27th and Locust crash
The crash happened on May 3, 2024. According to a criminal complaint, a Milwaukee police officer saw a car run a red light near 26th and Center. The officer followed the car and conducted a check on the vehicle.
At one point, court filings said the car was stopped at a stop sign and the squad was able to get close. The car then "darted out into the intersection" at 27th Street before turning left and speeding away.
Fatal crash at 27th and Locust
Prosecutors said the car drove on the wrong side of the street as it approached the intersection of 27th and Locust, where it ran a red light and hit a van – flipping the van onto its side – and an SUV. The driver then got out and ran.
The officer caught up to the driver, since identified as Benson, and took him into custody. Court filings said a review of Benson's Wisconsin Department of Transportation records showed he did not have a valid driver's license.
When police searched the car that Benson had been driving, the complaint said they found a handgun with a switch on it that "causes the handgun to be able to be fired as a fully automatic weapon."
Benson interviewed
In an interview with police, prosecutors said Benson said he had "just purchased" the car he was driving on Facebook Marketplace for around $6,000. He said he noticed the police squad following him and didn't want to get in a police chase, but "knew his car wasn't registered and that he didn't have a valid driver's license, and he didn't want his car to get towed."
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Benson further told police his plan was "to get far enough ahead of the squad car so that he could pull over and get out of the car and walk away," per the complaint. He also admitted that he "smashed off" in order to try to get away from the police.
As for the gun that was in the vehicle, court filings said Benson told police he "was holding the gun for his friend temporarily."
27th and Locust crash, Milwaukee father killed: 'It’s a nightmare'
A Milwaukee man was killed in a three-vehicle crash on the city's north side. It is not the first time his family has suffered this kind of loss.
Crash victims
The crash killed one person, 41-year-old Damond Harris, and injured three others.
Harris was a father of four with one granddaughter. He was a passenger in the van that was struck.
Ivorena Taylor, Harris' cousin, told FOX6 at the time that their family was living through a devastating déjà vu. She said a wrong-way driver killed Harris' sister and other family members in an Illinois crash two decades ago.