A Milwaukee County judge on Friday, Jan. 23, sentenced Shirley Hill to 25 years in prison and another 10 years of extended supervision for the January 2025 hit-and-run killing of 41-year-old Mamadou Bamba, following a confrontation near 14th Street and North Avenue. Hill pleaded guilty in November to first-degree reckless homicide, a move that avoided trial but still left her facing a long stretch behind bars, as reported by FOX6 Milwaukee.
According to FOX6 Milwaukee, prosecutors said Hill and Bamba had been smoking crack in Hill's car when an argument broke out. Bamba got out of the vehicle, and the criminal complaint states Hill followed him, hit him with her car, reversed over him, then drove away. Court documents reviewed by the station say Hill later told investigators she had been drinking and smoking earlier that morning. Prosecutors relied on the criminal complaint and surveillance footage as central evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings.
Surveillance Video Shows Deadly Sidewalk Collision
Investigators reviewed security footage from the area that captured the moments before and after the impact, according to CBS 58. The video shows a dark sedan heading south on 14th Street, two people getting out, then the driver climbing back behind the wheel and steering onto the sidewalk toward Bamba.
The station reports the vehicle appears to knock down a tree and strike the side of a building before running over Bamba, then back up over him again before leaving the scene.
Plea Deal, Then A Lengthy Sentence
Per FOX6 Milwaukee, Hill pleaded guilty in November to first-degree reckless homicide and was sentenced on Jan. 23 to 25 years of initial confinement plus 10 years of extended supervision.
Local reporting notes that Hill was first arrested on a charge of first-degree intentional homicide before reaching the plea agreement, according to TMJ4.
Family Mourns A Provider And Son
Bamba's relatives told TMJ4 that he moved to the United States from the Ivory Coast in 2008 and was known as a dependable son and provider. His cousin put it bluntly while the case moved through court: "You can't replace people," a plea for justice as the family processed the loss.
What First-Degree Reckless Homicide Means In Wisconsin
Under Wisconsin law, first-degree reckless homicide is a Class B felony, defined as recklessly causing the death of another person in circumstances that show an "utter disregard for human life." The statutory framework allows for decades of imprisonment, which helps explain the severity of Hill's sentence. The definition and penalty structure are laid out in Wisconsin statutes section 940.02, available via Justia.
The prison term formally closes the criminal case against Hill, but the impact of Bamba's death continues to weigh on his family and on the neighborhood around 14th and North. Investigators and prosecutors said the case leaned heavily on surveillance footage and witness accounts, and they asked anyone with additional information about the incident to contact local authorities.
