Milwaukee wrong-way driving incident on I-94/43; woman accused
Candice Brown
MILWAUKEE - A 31-year-old Milwaukee woman is accused of driving the wrong way on the interstate for roughly six miles before a sheriff's deputy got her to stop. The accused is Candice Brown – and she faces a criminal count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety.
According to the criminal complaint, Around 12:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, a Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office deputy was dispatched after numerous calls came in about a wrong-way driver on the interstate.
The deputy first located the Jeep in the northbound lanes of I-43 near Lincoln Avenue. The complaint says the "Jeep was hugging the median wall and driving towards (the deputy's) squad car." The driver of the Jeep initially tried to get around the squad but the deputy was able to get the Jeep's driver to stop. The complaint says the driver of the Jeep was the defendant, Candice Brown.
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The complaint says the deputy "smelled a strong odor of intoxicants on the defendant's breath and noted that her eyes were bloodshot and glassy. The defendant's speech was slurred and she admitted to drinking that night." Initially Brown told the deputy she had one wine, but "later changed her story to coming from a bar where she had a margarita and a shot," the complaint says. Brown submitted to a preliminary breath test which revealed a .153 BrAC -- nearly double the legal limit for driving. A search of the defendant's car revealed an open bottle of liquor.
According to the complaint, WisDOT cameras showed the defendant "entered the interstate by using an exit ramp at Brown Street and she continued to drive southbound in the northbound lanes for approximately 6 miles." A "camera near National Avenue depicts two different near-head-on collisions with other motorists," the complaint says.
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Brown made her initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Wednesday, Sept. 25. The court ordered a signature bond of $5,000.