Two Milwaukee men are facing years in prison for their alleged involvement in a deadly crash on the city’s north side August 7, 2021.
37-year-old James Malone is facing two counts of first-degree reckless homicide. 30-year-old James Hinton is facing one count each of first-degree reckless injury and operating a vehicle while revoked, causing great bodily harm to another person.
The accident took place at the intersection of Hampton Avenue and 60th Street. The criminal complaint against the two men states a 2018 Dodge Charger struck a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. Two men inside the Cobalt, Jerrold Wellinger and Devante Gaines, died at the scene. In addition, a 2017 Infiniti collided with several boulders and then hit a parked vehicle. A passenger inside this vehicle was injured.
Investigators determined the drivers of the two vehicles, with Malone driving the Charger and Hinton driving the Infiniti, based on security cameras and witness statements. They found the two vehicles were racing each other on Hampton prior to the accident at a high rate of speed.
Using airbag control module data, they determine Malone’s vehicle was traveling at 123-miles-per-hour just under four seconds before it crashed, slowing down to 102-miles-per-hour 0.1 seconds before impact. Hinton’s vehicle was traveling at 120-miles-per-hour five seconds before it crashed, slowing down to 94-miles-per-hour at impact.
Hinton is also charged with operating a vehicle while having a restricted controlled substance in his body. The criminal complaint states investigators found he was under the influence of THC when a motorcyclists struck his vehicle while he was turning into a gas station on the 2200 block of North 35th Street back on August 18, 2020, causing the motorcyclist’s death.