Milwaukee firefighter charged in connection with April 4th crash that killed two
WEST ALLIS -- 31-year-old Joshua Larson, a Milwaukee firefighter, has been charged in connection with the April 4th crash that killed two people.
Joshua Larson
Larson is charged with the following:
If convicted of all of these charges, Larson faces 100 years in prison.
"I think he's scared -- and understandably so," Julius Kim, Larson's attorney said.
The crash happened just after 5:00 p.m. near 60th and Pierce in West Allis. It involved three vehicles — a pickup truck (driven by Joshua Larson), a car and a minivan -- and it was captured by surveillance cameras attached to the Johnson Controls building nearby.
The two people killed in the crash were identified as 64-year-old Yoruba Sly-Lundasi of Milwaukee (the driver of the minivan) and 38-year-old Wendell Johnson of Chicago (a passenger in the minivan).
Sly-Lundasi was working as an Uber driver, and Johnson was his passenger. Johnson was visiting Milwaukee on business.
Yoruba Sly-Lundasi and Wendell "Ken" Johnson
Police said a preliminary investigation revealed the pickup truck, driven by Larson, was traveling southbound on S. 60th Street and struck the minivan as it made a left hand turn. The pickup truck and minivan traveled into oncoming traffic and impacted the northbound car. The driver and the passenger of the minivan passed away as a result of the crash.
The complaint says that the entire driver's side of the van was sheared away as a result of the wreck.
When officers arrived on scene, they saw Joshua Larson performing chest compressions on Yoruba Sly-Lundasi. A woman identifying herself as a nurse also stopped at the scene and helped with CPR.
Wendell Johnson was found in the back seat of the van -- not breathing and without a pulse.
Two killed in crash at 60th and Pierce in West Allis
According to the criminal complaint, Larson told investigating police he had been driving south on 60th Street when a van exited a parking lot. Larson told officials he did not know if the van was turning left or right onto 60th Street and "he could only remember that the van 'pulled out' in front of him." Larson told officers "he was driving 30-35 miles-per-hour and that he was not able to stop or avoid the accident."
The complaint indicates officers "detected a moderate odor of intoxicants" from Larson. They noticed his "speech was slurred" and that his "eyes were red and glassy." When asked how much he had to drink, Larson said "four 12 oz. cans" of beer. A preliminary breath test on Larson resulted in a .164 BAC -- or more than two times the legal limit for driving. A blood sample collected later in the day indicated Larson's BAC was .172.
Larson told investigators he was coming from Miller Park. April 4th was Opening Day for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Two killed in crash at 60th and Pierce in West Allis
An accident reconstruction was done at the scene of the fatal wreck. Based on that reconstruction, the criminal complaint indicates Larson's truck was traveling "approximately 70.93 mph" prior to braking in this incident. At the time of impact, the momentum analysis shows Larson's truck was traveling "approximately 54.12 mph."
The posted speed limit in that area of S. 60th Street is 30 mph.
At least two witnesses told investigators Larson's truck was speeding prior to the crash, with one witness saying the truck was going "unbelievably fast," according to the complaint. Another witness said he thought Larson's truck and another truck were racing.
The Milwaukee Fire Department confirms Larson is on paid suspension while an internal investigation is ongoing.
Larson was actually released from custody on April 8th -- four days after the crash.
"There's a lot of investigative reports that needed to be generated as a result of this," Julius Kim, Larson's attorney said.
Kim said the delay in charging and the decision to release Larson had nothing to do with the fact that Larson is a Milwaukee firefighter.
"Some people may have been concerned that some favoritism may have been shown because Mr Larson is a firefighter but I can assure you no favoritism has been shown. This is a complicated situation. It's very serious. I think everyone wants to make sure they take a good look at this to see if the charges were warranted in the case. We haven't even had the chance to look at police reports yet. So we have been fighting with one hand tied behind our back right now doing the best we can. I can tell you he has expressed nothing but remorse for what happened here regardless of the legal conclusions in this case," Kim said.
Larson will make his initial appearance in court in this case on June 1st. At this time, he's not in custody.
Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.