At the scene of Milwaukee fatal hit-and-run that killed 4-year-old girl, there's mourning and anger

The mother of a 4-year-old girl cried out, "What did I do wrong?," and asked where her daughter was after they were hit by a speeding car Tuesday on Milwaukee's north side.

The crash killed the 4-year-old, Zekani Hymes-Wilson, and left her mother, Gloria Hymes, injured.

Tuesday night, police said they had arrested two people after a chase that ended in a parking lot on the east side of Wauwatosa, with one of the two arrested in connection to the hit-and-run.

Earlier Tuesday, a furious Mayor Cavalier Johnson had called on the driver to turn themselves in during a press conference following the collision, which occurred at about 11:30 a.m. at North Teutonia Avenue and West Vera Avenue.

"That is garbage, it’s garbage, it’s bullshit and it should not happen," Johnson said. The mother and daughter were trying to cross the street when they were struck, Johnson said.

"The thing that pisses me off about this is that when the vehicle struck that mother, who now has broken bones — when the vehicle struck that mother and struck that child, who is now dead — they just kept on going," Johnson said. "They just kept on going as if they hit a pothole, like they ran over a box, like it was nothing."

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Zekani Hymes-Wilson's identity Wednesday afternoon.

Elijah Hunt, a worker at Express Wireless & Repairs, said he was Zekani's godfather and was friends with her mother. He said Hymes and her daughter had moved recently into an apartment building across the street from the cellphone and convenience corner store, next to the scene of the accident.

The three of them had become close as the mother and daughter frequented the store, with Hughes often giving the two of them hand-me-down clothes from his own children.

"I watched her grow up, get smarter," Hunt said of Zekani. "They're in here every day. She would do whatever for that little girl."

Hunt was incensed at the driver, pointing out that at least one of the suspects inspected the scene of the accident before driving away.

"You can hit the building, you can hit the tree, the sidewalk, you can hit anything else ... But you chose to continue to go right through these people. That is just unimaginable," he said. "As a man, if you jump out your car and run out to see a baby on the ground and you do nothing and you fear for yourself more ... is absolutely ridiculous."

After the accident, he said, Gloria Hymes kept asking what she had done wrong. Hunt reassured her it wasn't her fault.

Latonya Hawkins, who lives nearby, said she was on the scene moments after the crash took place.

“I was rubbing her feet when they were doing CPR,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins said she saw the driver pull over and get out of the car to look back at the scene before getting back into the car and continuing north.

“It was just evil,” she said.

Tuesday night, police said officers observed a vehicle believed to be connected to the people involved in the collision on the 5800 block of North 83rd Street. Officers then attempted to conduct a traffic stop but the vehicle fled, police said. The pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed in the Cosmos Café parking lot at 7203 W. North Ave.

Police said the driver complied with officers and was arrested, but the passenger fled on foot and was arrested by officers. Both people were taken to a hospital for "medical clearance," police said. Only one of the people is connected to the hit-and-run, according to police. Police said they continue to seek more people.

Anyone with information can call police at 414-935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414 224-Tips or by using the P3 Tips app.

Reckless driving has been a challenge with which city and county officials have grappled for years. Often, it has fatal or life-altering consequences for drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

Seven other pedestrians have been killed in vehicle crashes in the county this year, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Tuesday’s crash is the first time a minor pedestrian has been killed in 2024.

Fatal crashes involving pedestrians have been trending downward in Milwaukee County since reaching a two-decade high in 2022.

Last year, 25 people died in similar collisions. In 2022, 32 pedestrians died.

In 2021, 18 pedestrians died, while in 2020, 20 pedestrians died.

It was in June 2020 that the City-County Carjacking and Reckless Driving Task Force issued its report that included a series of recommendations for prevention and education, engineering changes that include designing streets for slower speeds, and accountability and enforcement.

In the city, officials have sought to prevent reckless driving through measures that include physical changes to the streets that force drivers to slow down and new enforcement measures.

Drake Bentley, Alison Dirr and Ricardo Torres contributed to this report

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee 4-year-old Zekani Hymes-Wilson killed in hit-and-run crash