Driver in crash that killed Journal Sentinel carrier was going 90 mph in 35 mph zone
The woman charged in the crash that killed Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper carrier Jason Stark was driving more than 90 mph and had been cited for driving with a suspended license six times from 2019 to 2021, according to a criminal complaint.
The license of Ellastaysha L. Harris, 24, of Milwaukee was still suspended Saturday night when, prosecutors say, she slammed into Stark’s car while trying to pass him in the middle of the West Appleton Avenue-West Burleigh Street intersection by Lincoln Memorial Cemetery.
Stark was two vehicles ahead of Harris; both were heading east on Appleton Avenue. In a 35 mph zone, the complaint said, Harris was driving at double the speed limit when she moved to the right and tried overtaking both cars ahead of her.
She ended up crashing into Stark’s passenger side as she tried to move back into his lane, according to the complaint, which cited surveillance footage.
Harris was charged Thursday with four felonies, including second-degree reckless homicide. She has not yet been assigned a permanent attorney, according to online court records. A $100,000 cash bond was set.
Harris said she knew her license was suspended and that it had been for years. From 2019 to 2021, in addition to the six operating while suspended citations, she received two more for speeding, according to the complaint.
Stark, 50, of Milwaukee was believed to be heading to work at the time of the crash, just minutes before midnight. He was an independent contractor who worked for the Journal Sentinel for more than 10 years in a variety of roles, most recently delivering papers on a route that includes the city of Waukesha.
His mother, Sharon Stark, told the Journal Sentinel on Monday that he loved his job and had recently begun considering settling down in the town his grandfather lived in – Loyal, in Clark County.
“This is really hard,” she said. “Why was she driving recklessly? I don’t know. I have no answer.”
The complaint filed Thursday had no clear answers either. Immediately after the crash, Harris told police she was on her way to her sister who was in an “emergency position.”
When interviewed by officers later on Sunday, she did not repeat anything about an emergency, saying only that she had just left her mother’s house and was headed home, the complaint said.
The crash is the latest apparent example of Milwaukee’s lingering reckless driving issues. Car crashes fell 5% in Milwaukee last year, but traffic deaths remain elevated, with 75 reported in 2023.
From 2008 to 2012, Milwaukee had an average of 39 traffic deaths a year. That average has since increased 86%, according to an analysis by Robert Schneider, a professor of urban planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The city had about 72 traffic deaths per year from 2018 through 2022, according to the analysis.
This year, 25 people have died in traffic crashes through Wednesday, two more than last year as of the same date, according to police data.
Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Driver in crash that killed Jason Stark was going twice the speed limit
