Yesterday, Aug. 3, Cera Wilkerson, a 22-year-old Milwaukee woman, faced court after being charged with five felonies, including reckless homicide. The charges follow a high-speed police chase that culminated in a deadly crash on the city's Lower East Side, as reported by FOX6 News. The incident occurred when Wilkerson, speeding away from police pursuit, struck Lyft driver El Moctar Sidiya's vehicle on Brady Street, leading to his death.
In accordance with details provided by WISN 12 News, Wilkerson was fleeing police at speeds up to 88 mph in a zone where the speed limit was 25 mph. The court has since set a $250,000 cash bail for Wilkerson. She is scheduled to shortly return to court on Aug. 11. El Moctar Sidiya, the victim, was a 28-year-old Lyft driver who had immigrated to Milwaukee to start anew, and a passenger in his vehicle, Marquis Ward, is recovering from multiple injuries that he sustained—the incident inflicting upon him broken bones and a collapsed lung.
The chase and subsequent crash had far-reaching implications, nearly causing harm to several other individuals including a pedestrian. "That driver, who's just trying to do his job, being a Lyft driver, is hit and that the moment of impact, the victim vehicle is going 63 mph. She didn't even touch her brakes," Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Sara Hill described the sequence of events in a statement obtained by WISN 12 News.
Further information from a TMJ4 News report states that Wilkerson has also been charged with second-degree reckless injury, and recklessly endangering safety, among other offenses. The criminal complaint revealed Wilkerson admitted to seeing police lights and believed she was getting pulled over for running a red light. She told police that she has "bad anxiety and a bad history with police," and did not remember what happened until she struck another vehicle. If convicted on all counts, Wilkerson could face over 64 years in prison, though a court date has not yet been set.
