TRAFFIC

Truck driver arrested in I-894 crash hours after he was pulled from service

Talis Shelbourne
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Two people were arrested after separate crashes Friday, including a truck driver who was pulled out of service by a state inspector hours earlier, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.

Jamie J. Mantel is accused of rear-ending two cars that had been slowing down because of congestion on southbound I-894 at the Hale Interchange near Greenfield around 4 p.m. Three people were injured, including a 12-year-old girl and her mother, who were taken to a hospital, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Faithe Colas said in a statement.

Colas said Mantel, who was driving under the authority of QSP Utility of Waterford, had been taken out of service Friday morning because he didn't have the required Class A commercial driver's license.

Mantel is accused of operating without a commercial driver's license and operating while under an out-of-service order. He declined to consent to a blood draw to screen for drugs and alcohol, but he showed no impairment in his field sobriety test, Colas said.

The crash was one of two that occurred minutes apart Friday that snarled traffic for hours on two heavily traveled commuter routes.

Tiondras Dyson, 37, was in the Milwaukee County Jail on Saturday, accused of causing a crash on I-94 at Drexel Avenue that left a motorcycle driver seriously injured.

Colas said he faces a felony charge of knowingly operating a vehicle after revocation, causing great bodily harm. Witnesses told authorities the motorcyclist was struck by an SUV driver who fled the scene.

At the time of his arrest, Colas said, Dyson had two bench warrants, one from Milwaukee County for allegedly operating a vehicle while revoked and another from Marathon County for failing to appear in court.

Contact Talis Shelbourne at (414) 223-5261 or tshelbourn@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @talisseer and Facebook at @talisseer.