Woman charged in double-fatal crash on Milwaukee's south side

MILWAUKEE - A 34-year-old Milwaukee woman faces four charges in connection to a crash that killed two people on Milwaukee's south side Saturday, Oct. 17.

Prosecutors say Alicia Ojeda was driving with a suspended license when she hit and killed Luis and Teresita Contreras near 27th and Edgerton.

A criminal complaint states that around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 17, a witness told police that she saw a vehicle "flying" north on 27th Street. The witness said she had never seen a car moving that fast before, and estimated its speed at 100 mph. The witness then heard a "pop" and saw there was an accident.

Police said the vehicle in question collided with another that was turning left from 27th onto Edgerton.

The witness told police that she and another good Samaritan tried to help the occupants out of the cars. She told police, the complaint states, that the driver of the speeding vehicle -- since identified as Ojeda -- seemed "high as a kite" and was "out of it," moving very slowly.

The occupants of the other car -- Luis and Teresita Contreras -- were unresponsive, the witness said. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

While being treated at the scene by paramedics, Ojeda told police that she had dropped her phone and it went under the car's pedals. When she tried to pick it up, the complaint states, the crash occurred.

The complaint states that information from the airbag control module of Ojeda's vehicle prior to the crash show she was traveling consistently above 75 mph roughly five seconds before the crash. Brakes were not engaged until roughly one second before the crash.

Police noted that the vehicle's information system has a data limitation of 75.8 mph and, thus, if the vehicle was traveling faster would still record a top speed of 75.8 mph. The speed limit where the crash happened is 40 mph.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation documents show that Ojeda's license had been suspended in December 2019.

Ojeda faces two counts of second-degree reckless homicide and two counts of knowingly operating a motor vehicle while suspended, causing death.

Milwaukee County Supervisor Sylvia Ortiz-Velez saw Teresita Contreras the morning of the crash, honoring her for her work in the community.

"It's so sad because it could have been avoided," Ortiz-Velez said. "Reckless driving has been a huge issue and more needs to be done."

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Milwaukee Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa worked closely with the victim, and is devastated by the loss of a friend.

"It is a huge loss for Milwaukee," said Zamarripa. "This should not have happened. This family should've been able to get home safely."