Milwaukee's financial reckoning over a fiery 2022 Department of Public Works truck crash that killed three people keeps growing, with the city now facing more than $1.37 million in known settlement payouts and at least one more lawsuit still headed to trial. The latest settlement, approved by the Common Council, adds a new chapter to a case rooted in a single catastrophic afternoon on Mayfair Road in Wauwatosa.
According to Urban Milwaukee, the city approved another settlement stemming from the deadly 2022 crash, bringing its known payouts to more than $1.37 million. That outlet reports the crash now has four known settlements totaling $1,372,300, and that the newest one — a $125,000 payment to Kristin S. Noack and Barbara R. Smith — was approved by the Common Council on Sept. 22, 2026, and signed into resolution by Mayor Cavalier Johnson the following day.
Noack and Smith filed a state negligence claim against the city before suing in 2024, according to the same report, and are represented by the law firm Gingras, Thomsen & Wachs. Their lawsuit was not resolved quietly behind closed doors; per the outlet's reporting, the latest settlement was not discussed in open session, and a related claim in their case is still scheduled for a jury trial in November.
What Happened on Mayfair Road
The crash unfolded on Dec. 13, 2022, when Denise Durrah, a 64-year-old Milwaukee DPW employee, drove a city heavy-duty pickup truck southbound on N. Mayfair Road, according to Urban Milwaukee's reporting. The truck struck multiple vehicles near W. Wisconsin Avenue in Wauwatosa, a collision that involved ten vehicles in total, the outlet reports.
FOX6 News reported that surveillance video released by police showed the truck smash into multiple cars stopped at a traffic light. The medical examiner's report estimated Durrah's truck was traveling 60 to 70 miles per hour down Mayfair Road before the crash, per that station's reporting.
Durrah died in the crash, as did 85-year-old Paul Woida of Milwaukee and 40-year-old Amy Miller of Cedarburg, FOX6 reported. Several other people were hurt, the station noted. Urban Milwaukee's account adds further detail: police reports indicated Durrah made no apparent attempt to slow before the collision, and the truck had already been involved in a minor crash near Watertown Plank Road before continuing south on Mayfair Road, where the fatal collision occurred. The truck was ultimately totaled and engulfed in flames, according to that reporting, and the medical examiner determined Durrah died from thermal injuries and smoke inhalation.
A History of Seizures and a City's Monitoring Policy
WISN 12 News reported that relatives and coworkers said Durrah had a history of seizures. In response to questions about the crash, Milwaukee DPW said it monitors the Wisconsin driver's license status of all employees with a driving requirement and may restrict employees from driving when necessary and appropriate, the station reported.
Urban Milwaukee's reporting also describes Durrah's role within the department: she worked in the DPW street maintenance section on a pothole filling crew. DPW described her as a gracious and hardworking person, according to that outlet, which also notes she was recognized in 2019 for rescuing a mother and baby, and was active as a minister at Greater New Birth Church.
The Mounting Cost of Settlements
The city's $1.37 million tally reflects four separate settlements tied to the crash, according to Urban Milwaukee. The city agreed to pay $500,000 to the family of Amy Miller and $500,000 to the family of Paul Woida, the outlet reports. A third settlement of $247,300 went to Terry Davis Jr., attorney James Scoptur and American Family Insurance; Davis sustained significant, permanent injuries in the crash, per that reporting.
The fourth settlement is the $125,000 payment to Noack and Smith approved in September. Two Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had previously reported that the city could pay a total of $1 million to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of two people killed in the crash, which it described as caused by a Milwaukee Department of Public Works employee, with that proposal expected to be taken up at the Common Council's Nov. 6 meeting in 2024.
With a jury trial still scheduled for November in the Noack and Smith case, the city's financial exposure from the 2022 crash may not yet be finished growing.
