A 24-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of leading police on a high-speed pursuit before colliding with a tree and fleeing on foot. The accused is Jawan Sallis, and he faces the following criminal counts:
- Operating a motor vehicle to flee or in an attempt to elude an officer
- Second-degree recklessly endangering safety
- Obstructing an officer
Police pursuit and crash
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police officers were monitoring traffic near 56th and Capitol Drive around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16. Officers saw a black car running a red light and activated their lights and sirens to initiate a traffic stop. The car did not come to a stop and instead accelerated away. A police chase ensued.
According to the complaint, officers accelerated up to 71 mph to catch up with the fleeing car. However, the motorist hit a curb while turning and “blew a stop sign at N. 60th Street and W. Melvina Street, nearly getting into a T-bone collision with at least one other vehicle,” according to the complaint. The policemen then ended the almost mile-long police chase.
A few moments later, the police discovered the car had “missed the curve of the road on W. Melvina Street and driven into the grass,” according to the complaint. They discovered the vehicle had smashed into a tree at 57th and Melvina streets. The defendant, Jawan Sallis, was “running from the scene,” according to the complaint. Sallis was arrested after a brief foot pursuit.
Investigators examined the crashed vehicle. It had extensive damage, “including windshield damage consistent with the driver’s head hitting the windshield,” according to the complaint. One officer said that if there were passengers in the vehicle, they would have been unable to evacuate due to the incident.
Sallis made his first appearance in Milwaukee County Court on Monday, July 21. The cash bond was set at $10,000.
Sallis is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing on July 31.
