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Milwaukee hit-and-run; boy dead, man charged
A Milwaukee man is now charged with reckless homicide in connection to the Aug. 27 fatal hit-and-run of 11-year-old Tyrone Reese Jr.
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is now charged with reckless homicide in connection to the Aug. 27 fatal hit-and-run of 11-year-old Tyrone Reese Jr.
Prosecutors say Sylvester Thomas, 30, may have been racing another car when he hit the boy near Fond du Lac and Capitol.
Police were called to the scene around 3:15 p.m. that Sunday. Fire department personnel were already performing CPR on Reese when officers arrived. The boy was taken to a hospital with severe injuries and died of those injuries on Aug. 30.
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A witness told police he saw two cars – a white Lexus and a black Dodge – speeding down Fond du Lac and "believed them to be racing," a criminal complaint states. The witness said he saw the Dodge swerve to avoid a Reese, who was riding his bike, before the Lexus hit the 11-year-old.
Another witness told police, per the complaint, that he saw the same two cars speeding down Fond du Lac before the Lexus hit Reese.
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Boy killed in crash, drivers racing: report
A Milwaukee 11-year-old died days after he was struck in a hit-and-run while riding his bicycle. The medical examiner's report says two drivers were racing in the 30 mph zone.
Police spoke to the driver of the Dodge. He told police, the complaint states, that he was driving down Fond du Lac and saw two boys riding their bikes and heard a "loud bang" after he passed them. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw one of the boys and a bike "fly into the air." He then saw a Lexus pass him, and said he decided to follow it because he thought the Lexus hit the boy. He also took a picture of the Lexus – which captured the license plate.
Later, the complaint states the Dodge driver told police he saw the Lexus stop. A man got out of the passenger side, and the Dodge driver said he went back to the crash scene as the Lexus drove away. The Dodge driver said he saw the man who got out of the Lexus walking toward the crash scene.
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The passenger who had gotten out of the Lexus told police that the Challenger pulled up next to them at a stoplight near 51st and Fond du Lac and "was trying to race." When the light turned green, they sped off.
Police watched surveillance from the area of the crash which showed the Lexus and Dodge driving east on Fond du Lac moments before Reese was hit. Both cars were driving toward where Reese was hit, the complaint states, at "speeds that were obviously much faster than other cars driving on the street." The speed limit where the crash happened is 30 mph.
Hit-and-run scene on W. Fond du Lac Avenue, Milwaukee
Thomas turned himself in on Aug. 28 and told police he was the driver of the Lexus, per the complaint. He told investigators he thought the Challenger hit the boy first and that he only hit the 11-year-old after. However, the Challenger had no damage that "would be consistent with having hit" the boy.
The complaint states Thomas' car, meanwhile, had "severe front end damage including a crushed front hood." The Lexus' windshield was also smashed and "what appeared to be marks from the crank of a bicycle on the hood."
Thomas is charged with second-degree reckless homicide and hit-and-run (resulting in death). His bond was set at $50,000 during an initial court appearance Saturday, Sept. 2.
Family mourns
Data shows the intersection where the crash happened is the worst in Milwaukee for crashes. It is a danger Reese Jr.'s family knows all too well.
"Y'all in a rush to go nowhere – to jail," said Tyrone Reese Sr. "Slow down, think about other people's kids."
Tyrone Reese Jr.
A day after his son's death, Reese Sr. held tight to molds of his son's hands made in the hospital before the fifth-grader passed away.
"This is the last thing I’ve got of my son here," said Reese Sr. "The doctor made them while he was on his last breath."
The boy leaves behind many siblings and other loved ones. On Fond du Lac, with cars speeding by, family released balloons in the 11-year-old's honor Thursday night, Aug. 31.
"Now, we gotta look at my cousin in a casket," said Deja'nae Gallion. "Just too much. We gonna miss him."
"This is my heart right here," said Reese, Sr. "This is my oldest son. This is my junior. I love him to the death of me."
The family set up a GoFundMe online fundraiser to help during this tragic time.