A Muskego couple was identified as the two victims of a multi-vehicle crash Tuesday caused by a reckless driver fleeing authorities, running a red light and causing the crash, prosecutors said.
The accused reckless driver, Papa Abdoulaye Diallo, 24, of Milwaukee, was free on bond in two open cases in Waukesha County, according to court records. Diallo was charged Friday with seven counts, including two counts of reckless homicide.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims as John and Barbara Zablocki. John Zablocki, 69, died at the scene, while Barbara Zablocki, 65, later died from her injuries at a hospital, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said. Adam Zablocki, the couple’s son, declined to comment Friday.
According to a criminal complaint, a sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a Ford Focus near the Mitchell Park Domes on South 27th Street shortly before 10 p.m. because the Focus was crossing the fog line on the road.
When the deputy activated his lights and siren, the Focus fled, the complaint states. Arriving at the intersection of 27th Street and West St. Paul Avenue, the Focus ignored a red light at a high speed and collided with two other vehicles, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors said the BP gas station on the corner of the intersection also filmed the crash. The video shows a Ford Focus traveling northbound on 27th Street at a high rate of speed, ignoring a red light, then hitting a Toyota Camry traveling westbound on St. Paul through a green light.
The Camry struck a brick column that is part of the gas station while the Focus struck a Buick Enclave that was stopped at a red light in the southbound lanes of 27th Street, according to the complaint.
The sheriff’s deputy who was chasing the Focus said he was going about 70 miles per hour during his pursuit and the Focus was speeding away. The posted speed limit on 27th Street is 30 miles per hour.
The Zablockis were inside the Camry and, despite life-saving measures, John Zablocki died at the scene, while Barbara Zablocki died at the hospital.
The Enclave man, Drew Jefferson, 56, was not injured. He recorded a video of the aftermath of the accident. At the time of the accident, Jefferson, a real estate agent, had just dropped off his last passenger for the ride-sharing app Uber.
Jefferson, who frequently traveled the streets of Milwaukee, said reckless driving needs to stop. “By playing Grand Theft Auto you don’t save time, all you do is shorten the time you have on this earth,” he said.
The biggest topic of conversation within Jefferson’s Uber is reckless driving and the danger of driving in Milwaukee, he said. A report released Thursday by the Wisconsin Policy Forum showed that Milwaukee County is seeing an increase in traffic deaths in recent years and that it is largely affecting Black and brown residents.
Jefferson said he sees more reckless driving at night. The data too…
