MILWAUKEE, Wisc. (TMJ4) —Three people are dead after a police pursuit ended in a crash with the suspect vehicle going over a bridge and catching fire.
According to Milwaukee police, officers pursued a vehicle involved in drug dealing and reckless driving shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday.
Prior to the incident, police say officers saw occupants of a Toyota Avalon at 22nd and Mineral involved in a suspected drug deal. When officers attempted a traffic stop, they say the suspects fled recklessly and a police pursuit was initiated.
After nearly a minute, the suspect vehicle fled across the 16th Street Viaduct, crossed the center line, and started to leave the roadway, police said.
Once the car crossed the sidewalk, an 18-year-old Milwaukee woman was hit by the vehicle. The pedestrian was transported to the hospital with a minor injury.
The vehicle then crashed through the safety fence and fell below the bridge and caught on fire. Officers began rendering aid to the three occupants of the vehicle.
The Milwaukee Fire Department responded and the three occupants of the vehicle were pronounced dead. Police say the suspects appear to be three adult males, but their identities have not been released.
A witness told Scripps Station TMJ4 News that the crash was "shocking."
"He (the driver) lost control. He was going 80, 90 (miles per hour)," Mimi Reza stated.
Reza said she was coming up the bridge when the vehicle was suspect's vehicle was being pursued.
"He (the driver) went over the bridge, you just hear the screeching, the banging, an explosion," Reza said. "It was a sad incident. It's really sad they had to lose it (their lives) that way."
This story was originally reported on tmj4.com.
