UPDATE at 11:00 a.m. on Dec. 15: The driver of a Milwaukee Dept. of Public Works (DPW) truck that hit nine other cars and killed two people stopped at a red light in Wauwatosa has been identified by Milwaukee Medical Examiners.
Officials named Denise Durham as the 64-year-old woman who died in a flaming crash while operating a DPW flatbed truck on Dec. 13. She passed away at the scene in Wauwatosa, but the specifics of what occurred inside the vehicle are unclear to this point.
The Wauwatosa Police Department is handling this investigation. If you have any information that may help them uncover what caused the crash, you’re urged to contact them immediately at 414-471-8430.
The following breaking news update has been left unaltered from its original publishing.
MILWAUKEE — New details coming out of the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office have confirmed the identities of two people who were killed by a Milwaukee Department of Public Works truck traveling above the speed limit by 20-to-30 MPH in Wauwatosa.
According to a document obtained by WTMJ on Wednesday afternoon, 85-year-old Paul Woida and 40-year-old Amy Miller are the two victims who were killed by the impact from a DPW flatbed truck shortly after Noon on Dec. 13. Woida was pronounced dead at the scene despite life-saving measures and Miller passed away at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa.
The identity of the DPW truck driver has not been made public at this stage of the investigation. However, the Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that she is a 64-year-old woman who also passed away at the scene. Her vehicle was engulfed by flames on the Wauwatosa roadway before first responders were able to remove her from the vehicle, at which point she was pronounced dead.
Jerrel Kruschke, Commissioner for the Milwaukee Department of Public Works, has issued the first public statement on behalf of the organization since this tragedy.
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“We are told the DPW vehicle was solely operated and while we know the employee assigned to that truck at that time, we are awaiting the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner to confirm their identity,” Kruschke stated. “[In the meantime], we are cooperating fully with law enforcement in this investigation.”
The Dept. of Public Works truck was traveling between 60 and 70 MPH when it crashed into 10 cars at the intersection of N Mayfair Rd & W Wisconsin Ave, the Medical Examiner’s statement included. Authorities confirmed that the DPW truck began to strike vehicles, sped further down the busy Wauwatosa road, hit several more and burst into flames.
“We at DPW send our deepest sympathy to the family and friends who lost loved ones from this tragic event,” Commissioner Kruschke said.
If you have information about the crash, you’re urged to contact the Wauwatosa Police Department’s Crash Investigation Unit by calling 414-471-8430.
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