Local rapper Lil Frank charged in hit-and-run crash that killed pregnant woman in Milwaukee

A Milwaukee rapper with a large online following has been charged in the hit-and-run crash last week in which a driver fled a traffic stop, ran a red light and collided with another vehicle, killing a pregnant woman and her unborn child.

Prosecutors charged Frank Mosley, 20, of Milwaukee with three felonies, including first-degree reckless homicide. He made his first court appearance Tuesday and remains in custody, according to online jail records.

Mosley is also known by his stage name, Lil Frank, and his music attracted more than 250,000 followers on Instagram. He has touted himself as the creator of a popular dance seen on TikTok videos that was paired with lowend music, a subgenre developed in Milwaukee that has gained significant attention in recent years.

It wasn't clear if Mosley had an attorney as of Tuesday.

The woman who died in the crash was identified as Erin M. Mogensen, 32, of Milwaukee, who was about two months pregnant. The Journal Sentinel was unable to reach her family Tuesday.

Mogensen is a Shorewood native who volunteered at the Milwaukee County Zoo, played the viola and shared a love of cooking with her husband, according to an obituary. Mogensen was killed the day of the couple’s fourth wedding anniversary.

Reckless driving receiving renewed scrutiny after string of fatal crashes

Mogensen was one of seven people killed in five separate crashes in a six-day period last week. Officials have attributed speeding as a factor in all of them.

The crashes propelled a collection of Milwaukee officials Monday to publicly call on state legislators to allow municipalities expanded powers to tow the vehicles of reckless drivers, whether they own the vehicle or have had previous reckless driving convictions or not.

Minutes after that press conference concluded, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman was injured in a crash while his car was stopped at a red light. Norman walked away from the crash but was still hospitalized afterward with injuries that were not life-threatening, the department said.

Fleeing car was going 111 mph moments before crash

According to Mosley’s criminal complaint:

Around 10:40 a.m. Nov. 2, a Wauwatosa police officer attempted to pull over a BMW that was missing a license plate on West Capitol Drive.

The BMW instead sped off. The officer initially gave chase but then terminated the pursuit for safety reasons and came upon a crash scene at the intersection of West Capitol Drive and North 100th Street in Milwaukee.

Mogensen was pronounced dead at the scene.

Surveillance video nearby showed the BMW run a red light and crash into a Toyota driven by Mogensen in a T-bone fashion. The driver of the BMW quickly exited the car and ran off, jumping a fence in the process.

Police recovered data from the BMW’s airbag control module, which showed the car was traveling 111 mph in a 35 mph zone three seconds before the crash. It slowed to 61 mph at the point of impact.

The BMW had been reported stolen out of Milwaukee on Oct. 27. Police recovered a Walmart receipt inside the car dated Oct. 29.

Surveillance images from the Walmart showed the vehicle arriving in the lot that day, driven by a man with a tattoo of a clock on one of his hands.

Police then visited the address of where the BMW was stolen, on the 2400 block of North 39th Street. Officers located Mosley inside the home and found a tattoo of a clock on his hand.

They also discovered a grill in the home’s backyard with burnt clothing and paperwork about a BMW. Inside the home, officers found a key fob for a BMW that operated the doors and hatch of the car involved in the crash.

Mosley told investigators he had the car for about a week before the crash, until someone stole it from him. He denied being the man seen driving the car in the Walmart footage.

Piet Levy of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

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: Rapper Lil Frank charged in hit-and-run that killed woman in Milwaukee