A man from Milwaukee faces up to 71 years in prison after he allegedly drove while intoxicated, crashed into a Milwaukee Police officer and killed him before attempting to flee the scene.
A criminal complaint says Dante James faces charges of:
– Homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle while having prior intoxicant-related conviction/revocation
– Hit-and-run resulting in death
– Knowing operating a motor vehicle while revoked, causing the death of another.
If convicted on all three charges, James faces up to 71 years in prison.
The crash killed Kou Her, a Milwaukee Police officer.
The complaint states that James was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo at about 2:10 a.m. Monday morning.
A witness told police of James’ apparent unstable driving patterns, making a very wide u-turn, passing cars which had passed him, and accelerating quickly to speed away from other cars at green lights.
Then, he allegedly ran a red light while driving westbound on West Capitol Drive as it intersected North 60th Street.
According to the complaint, James’ vehicle then crashed into the 2010 Toyota Corolla which Officer Her was driving off-duty.
A crash reconstruction team then ascertained that James’ vehicle was going 62 miles per hour in a place where the speed limit is 30 miles per hour.
The witness said he asked James if he was OK, but James apparently didn’t respond.
At that point, James allegedly escaped his vehicle and attempted to run away. An officer discovered him having the description of the Monte Carlo driver and arrested him.
The complaint says that James told police he had shots at his cousin’s home, drove to a bar, had a shot and two beers and was then “kicked out” of the bar.
According to the complaint, he already had taken a breath test after reporting to work. The test registered a .176, more than twice the legal driving limit, 11 hours before the crash. His employer then reportedly fired him.
He also had tested a .209 after his arrest.
This would be James’ fourth drunk driving conviction.