Fatal crashes involving stolen cars dip in Milwaukee

Although traffic fatalities rose statewide in 2016 compared with the prior year, the number of fatal crashes in Milwaukee dipped in the same time period, according to recently released data.

The number of people killed in crashes involving stolen vehicles in Milwaukee also dropped after 10 such deaths were recorded in 2015, a year when officials highlighted the statistic to draw attention to the potentially deadly effects of car thefts.

Those five deaths represent nearly 9% of the 57 traffic fatalities in the city last year, compared with 15% of the 64 traffic fatalities in 2015, Milwaukee police said. In 2014, only two people were killed in crashes involving stolen cars.

"I know the prior year was a horrific year and there were a number of incidents that occurred throughout the city," Mayor Tom Barrett said. "I'm hoping that the word is getting out throughout the community just how dangerous it can be."

Carjacking and car thefts remain a problem in the city, he said, and added: "We're going to continue to press that those individuals who are involved in those crimes are treated appropriately throughout the entire criminal justice system."

Deaths up in Wisconsin

Last year, 588 people died on Wisconsin roads — the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2012 when 601 people died, according to preliminary data from the state Department of Transportation.

"I think we're just more distracted than ever and that's having a larger effect," said David Pabst, director of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Safety.

"We used to be a nation of drivers, now we're a nation of multitaskers."

Wisconsin also switched to a 70 mphspeed limit on interstate highways in June 2015, but Pabst said it was still too soon to tell what, if any, impact that move had.

"We like to look at things for three or four years and have a five-year rolling average," he said. "What we did see during our analysis of 2015 data was speeding-related crashes were up on all roads, not just highways."

In addition to high levels of distracted driving, more people were on Wisconsin roads last year, in part, because of low fuel prices, said Nick Jarmusz

"When you have more people on the road making those same mistakes, you're going to see an increase in the number of folks involved in fatal crashes," he said.

And in general, teen drivers — like those often behind the wheel of stolen cars involved in crashes in Milwaukee — are at higher risk because of their lack of experience, Jarmusz said.

The results can be deadly. In a case from May, an 18-year-old driving a stolen SUV blew through a stop sign at a Milwaukee intersection and crashed into a car carrying a family on its way to a movie theater.

An 8-year-old boy and 46-year-old woman were killed, and the driver, who fled the scene, was later arrested and pleaded guilty to two counts of homicide. He is expected to be sentenced next month.

Mary Spicuzza of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.