Waukesha woman drove drunk, Milwaukee crash killed friend, prosecutors say
MILWAUKEE - A Waukesha woman is accused of driving drunk and causing a crash that killed her friend near 91st and Bradley in Milwaukee. After the crash, prosecutors say she denied she was driving.
Shauntonae Walton, 26, faces one count of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, one count of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration and one count of knowingly operating a vehicle without a license, causing death.
The crash happened around 3 a.m. on Dec. 10.
According to a criminal complaint, a witness said the vehicle was swerving northbound on 91st before going off the road and striking a tree.
91st and Bradley
The passenger in the car, a Madison woman, 31, was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple blunt force injuries.
Prosecutors say Walton was found to have red, glassy eyes, slurred speech, an odor of intoxicants coming from her and vomit on her clothing. When asked whether she was driving, prosecutors say she initially shook her head "yes." However, in subsequent interviews with police, she claimed she was laying in the back seat at the time of the crash.
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She told investigators she had been at Bowlero near 117th and Burleigh with Madison woman, and they then went to a club near 45th and Burleigh. That's where Walton said after drinking, she began to "fall asleep." She said a bartender helped her to the car, and she was placed in the back seat, laying down, while her companion drove. She said the next thing she knew, she woke up to someone telling her there was a crash, the complaint says.
91st and Bradley
Police say an investigation revealed no such "club" exists in the location where Walton claimed she was, near 45th or 46th and Burleigh. Investigators also pointed out she was not found in the back of the car at the scene of the crash.
She blew a .223 at the hospital, prosecutors say, and she has never had a valid driver's license. She was cited for OWI in Waukesha in 2018 and in Brookfield in 2021.
She made her initial appearance in court Wednesday, Dec. 14. Cash bond was set at $10,000.