Downtown hit-and-run, Milwaukee man accused
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is charged with hit-and-run after a downtown crash Saturday, Nov. 11.
Prosecutors also accuse 27-year-old Jesus Rodriguez of injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle after a breath test found he had been driving at roughly three times the legal BAC limit.
The two-vehicle crash happened at the I-794 eastbound Van Buren Street off ramp. About a block from the scene, a detective saw two people with blood stains on their clothes hiding behind a concrete wall. One of those two was identified as Rodriguez.
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A criminal complaint states a deputy asked Rodriguez what happened. He answered, "I don't know, why?" and denied being in either of the two vehicles involved. He also denied driving but admitted he had come from a bar.
The other person with Rodriguez told a deputy they were involved in a crash and "did not know what to do," the complaint states. That person also said Rodriguez was picking him up from a bar – but later denied Rodriguez was the driver. He described someone named "Brandon" but could not explain where Brandon went.
Asked later who was driving, the complaint states Rodriguez again said "I don't know." He was the registered owner of one of the vehicles and eventually admitted as much. The complaint states blood inside the vehicle was "consistent" with the other person being the passenger. There were car seats in the back, the complaint states, "leaving no space for a third adult to sit in the car."
Rodriguez "smelled like intoxicants" and had "slurred speech," per the complaint. A preliminary breath test determined Rodriguez had a 0.236 BAC – nearly three times the legal limit. He was taken into custody and to a hospital for an evidentiary blood draw, the results of which are still pending.
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A deputy spoke to the driver of the other vehicle involved. That driver said Rodriguez's car ran a red light and hit his car. That person was taken to a hospital via ambulance. He required four screws in his knee and was told the screws "might have to stay in his knee for the rest of his life." He said doctors think he "might have a permanent limp" once he can walk again.
Rodriguez made his initial court appearance Wednesday, Nov. 15 and received a $5,000 signature bond.
