Milwaukee’s police chief was injured in a car crash moments after leaving a press conference where the city’s rampant reckless driving problem was discussed.
Police Chief Jeffrey Norman’s vehicle was struck by a dump truck just after 10 a.m. Monday, about three blocks from Milwaukee Police Department District 4 station, where the press conference was held, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.
Witnesses at the scene said the dump truck sped through an intersection without stopping and hit the vehicle the police chief was in.
Norman was spotted by a WPR reporter sitting on the sidewalk wearing a neck brace after the collision.
The police chief and another officer involved in the crash were taken by an ambulance to the hospital and treated for “non-life threatening injuries.”
The driver of the dump truck stayed at the scene and was cooperating with the investigation into the accident, police said in a statement.
Milwaukee Alderman Lamont Westmoreland, who was also at the press conference, noted that officials were investigating whether the accident was reckless driving related.
“It’s super frustrating, but again, we don’t know if this is reckless driving related,” Westmoreland said. “It just goes to show you that no one is exempt from anything out here on the streets.”
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson called the incident “cruelly coincidental” in a statement to the station.
“We did not need this type of reminder that all drivers need to slow down and increase caution on our roadways.”
The crash is currently being investigated by the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.
Hours after the accident, the police department took to X to restate their goal to stop reckless driving, writing, “Today, we stood in support of our intergovernmental partners on a move forward to impact legislative change.”
Also on Monday, Johnson signed a resolution calling on the state to provide the city with greater tools to tackle its reckless driving problem.
“I’m asking the state Legislature to empower local governments, local communities, to tow the cars of reckless drivers in more situations than are currently permitted,” Johnson said Monday, according to WPR.
Reckless driving has become an increasingly stubborn issue in the city of Milwaukee. Last year, police issued 496 reckless driving citations — up 32 percent from the year before.
The police department also issued over 13,000 traffic citations last year — 7,414 of which were for speeding.