A stolen car tore through Greenfield on Tuesday before a police pursuit ended in a crunch of metal, as the fleeing vehicle slammed into a parked car and set off a chain reaction that damaged several other unoccupied, parked vehicles, according to police. Officers first spotted the vehicle near South 27th Street and West Layton Avenue, tried to pull it over, and say the driver took off southbound toward South 20th Street and West Clayton Crest Avenue, where the crash happened.
The driver, identified by police as a 41-year-old Milwaukee man, was taken to a hospital with possible injuries and later taken into custody without incident.
Those details come from a department media release posted on Facebook. According to a Facebook post by the Greenfield Police Department, the crash involved multiple parked vehicles, and no other motorists were part of the pileup. The post notes the pursuit briefly hit speeds of up to 89 mph and began after an automated license-plate reader camera system flagged the car as stolen. The release also lists the on-duty supervisor at (414) 761-5300 as the contact for media questions.
How the Chase Unfolded
Police say an officer first located the stolen vehicle near South 27th Street and West Layton Avenue and attempted a traffic stop. Instead of pulling over, the driver allegedly bolted, heading south until reaching the area of South 20th Street and West Clayton Crest Avenue.
There, the fleeing car hit a parked vehicle, and that collision pushed into several other parked, unoccupied cars, according to the department's account. Police did not report any injuries to other motorists at the scene.
Charges and Next Steps
According to the department's release, criminal charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. Potential counts listed include flee/elude, second-degree recklessly endangering safety and operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. Prosecutors will review the case before any charges are officially filed, and the department did not give a timeline for when that might happen.
What This Means Locally
Police say the pursuit started after an automated license-plate reader camera system flagged the vehicle as stolen, a tool departments increasingly rely on to spot hot cars before they disappear into traffic. High-speed chases tied to stolen vehicles are a recurring public safety worry in the Milwaukee area, and departments are often caught balancing the dangers of a pursuit against the need to stop drivers they say are putting others at risk.
For now, the Greenfield Police Department's Facebook post serves as the main public account of Tuesday's chase and crash. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Greenfield Police Department's on-duty supervisor at (414) 761-5300, as listed in the department's media release. The Facebook post linked above includes the full text of that release and contact details.
