Three people dead after a vehicle, being pursued by Milwaukee police, drives off the 16th Street Viaduct
Three people were killed when a vehicle, being pursued by Milwaukee police, drove off the 16th Street Viaduct and burst into flames on West Canal Street in the Menomonee Valley, authorities say.
Police held a press conference near the scene Thursday night, where they said officers began pursuit of a vehicle around 5:54 p.m. The occupants of the vehicle had been involved in suspected drug dealing and reckless driving, police said.
The officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle around South 22nd Street and West Mineral Street, after seeing occupants conducting a drug transaction, police said.
The vehicle then fled the scene and a pursuit ensued.
According to police, about a minute later, the vehicle struck a pedestrian standing on the 16th Street Viaduct, before crashing through a safety fence and falling off the bridge onto Canal Street. The vehicle then caught on fire, killing the occupants.
The three occupants are all males. Police were not immediately able to provide ages, but the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office tentatively identified two of the men on Friday as ages 34 and 44, both from Milwaukee.
The pedestrian who was struck is an 18-year-old Milwaukee woman. Officials say she received minor injuries.
The 16th Street Viaduct is just south of Interstate 94 near Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.
It's about a 16-foot drop from bridge, according to Wisconsin Department of Transportation records.
Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Car crashes off 16th Street bridge in Milwaukee, three reported dead
