Milwaukee man accused; driving wrong way for miles in Waukesha County
Samuel Moran Soza
DELAFIELD, Wis. - A 42-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of driving for more than ten miles the wrong way on I-94 early Christmas morning 2024. The accused is Samuel Moran Soza – and he faces a charge of second-degree recklessly endangering safety.
According to the criminal complaint, a Waukesha County sheriff's deputy on patrol around 2:30 a.m. on Christmas morning was advised of a wrong-way driver on I-94 coming from Jefferson County. Delafield police noted the suspect vehicle, an SUV, passed them at 100 miles per hour in the wrong lanes of traffic, the complaint says. A Waukesha County sheriff's deputy activated his emergency lights and siren in an attempt to get the vehicle to pull over.
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The deputy positioned himself in between two westbound I-94 lanes just east of Genesee Street in an attempt to get the suspect vehicle to pull over. The complaint says that vehicle "did not slow down and continued to swerve towards the median" to go around the squad. The deputy stated "the defendant's vehicle almost hit him head on," the complaint says.
The deputy then did a U-turn and tried to catch up to the suspect vehicle. The SUV then "came to a stop once (the deputy) caught up to him in the westbound lanes of I-94 just west of State Highway 83," the complaint says. The suspect vehicle was still in the wrong lane of travel.
When the deputy approached the SUV, the driver was later identified as Samuel Moran Soza. The complaint says Moran Soza "looked confused and began to speak Spanish." The deputy also noted there were "five adults and two infants in car seats in the vehicle."
A Wisconsin State Trooper who could speak Spanish arrived on the scene. The defendant stated "he was headed home to Milwaukee and had been coming from Johnson Creek. (The trooper) could smell the odor of intoxicating beverages coming from the defendant's person," the complaint says. Moran Soza was advised he was driving the wrong way on the interstate. The complaint says Moran Soza "looked surprised by the fact that he was going the wrong way. The defendant stated that his GPS on his phone told him to go the way he was going. The defendant stated that he does not know the area well."
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The defendant was given field sobriety tests, but it was "determined to not be impaired. His PBT was 0.017. The defendant did not have a valid driver's license," the complaint says.
The complaint notes the defendant traveled approximately 11 miles on I-94 going the wrong way.
Moran Soza made his initial appearance in Waukesha County court on Dec. 27. Cash bond was set at $25,000.