Milwaukee fatal hit-and-run, woman accused of driving drunk
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee woman is accused of driving drunk when she struck two sisters – killing one, injuring the other – and took off late Saturday night.
Prosecutors charged 34-year-old Stephanie Sykes in the case. The crash killed 20-year-old Talise Dunmore and injured her 23-year-old sister, De-Lisha Dunmore.
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According to a criminal complaint, officers arrived at the scene near 76th and Good Hope shortly after midnight on Sunday, Sept. 22. Two witnesses told police they saw a white car speeding down 76th Street. One witness saw the car hit two pedestrians, while the other witness "heard a loud sound" and looked up to see two pedestrians had been hit. Both witnesses said the white car did not stop. One of the witnesses followed the white car, and took a picture of its license plate, before driving back to the scene.
Talise Dunmore, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene. The complaint states an autopsy ruled her preliminary cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. The medical examiner's office said the car that hit Dunmore was traveling approximately 80 mph and three the woman 50-to-75 feet.
Talise Dunmore and De-Lisha Dunmore
"Her future was bright, and it was taken away from her," said Jennifer Potts, Talise's former teacher at Center Street Nail Tech Academy.
Prosecutors said De-Lisha Dunmore, 23, was taken to a hospital and later spoke to investigators. She said she lost consciousness when they were hit and could not remember any details about the crash. She is now recovering at home with broken bones.
"It's devastating, especially when you realize that someone actually died," said Ald. Larressa Taylor, who represents the district where the hit-and-run took place. "I'd like to really introduce something so that we can reduce the number of fatalities that we're having."
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A Milwaukee Fire Department lieutenant told police he saw a white car with extensive front-end damage stopped on the side of 76th Street, per the complaint. It had the same license plate as the vehicle the witness took a photo of. The lieutenant saw a woman get out of the driver's seat and get into the front passenger's seat of a black vehicle that had parked near the white car. The lieutenant took photos of the car and the woman.
The complaint states officers arrested that woman, since identified as Sykes, around 2:30 a.m. She was taken to the District 4 police station and put through field sobriety tests, during which Sykes said: "I can't do this." She refused to submit a blood test, but a search warrant was obtained, and a sample was collected. The blood kit was sent to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, where a toxicologist reported a blood alcohol concentration of 0.081 – just over the legal limit.
In an interview, prosecutors said Sykes told a detective she "blacked out" and was "going in and out" but got better at the police station. She had started drinking beers around 7 p.m. on Saturday when someone brought tequila, and they started "doing shot after shot." She believed she drank two or three beers and had five double shots of tequila. She identified the white car seen in the photos as hers, and herself as the woman seen getting out of the vehicle.
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A review of Skyes' driving record showed four prior operating while intoxicated convictions, per the complaint – the most recent in August 2012. At the time of the fatal hit-and-run, she had a license restriction in effect: "No operation with alcohol level more than 0.02."
"Four times is way too many," said Taylor. "That life could have ben saved at least in respect to that drunk driver had we implements something that would have kept them off the road."
In all, Sykes is charged with:
- Homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle
- Homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration
- Hit-and-run resulting in death
Sykes has not yet made her initial court appearance.
The Dunmore family is planning to hold a vigil for Talise on Saturday night, where they said they are prepared to make a formal statement. A GoFundMe online fundraiser was established to help with medical expenses for De-Lisha Dunmore and honor Talise Dunmore's memory.