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Tuesday, December 10, 2024
HomeLeadChild becomes sixth fatality in Wisconsin car-ramming

Child becomes sixth fatality in Wisconsin car-ramming

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Daily US Times: A child became the sixth fatality in a car-ramming in the US state of Wisconsin on Sunday.

Darrell Brooks wept as he was arraigned in court with five counts of intentional homicide. Prosecutors said further charges would be filed.

Police say Brooks, 39, drove in a “zig-zag pattern” to hit as many people as possible at the Waukesha parade.

Bail was set at $5m due to his extensive criminal background.

The boy killed was eight-year-old Jackson Sparks, who was hit alongside his 12-year-old brother, Tucker.

He had been marching with his baseball team when he was struck. A GoFundMe page said Jackson underwent brain surgery on Sunday and needed “a miracle”.

His brother, who suffered a fractured skull, is expected by family members to recover. Tucker was among 62 people injured.

Police said 18 of the injured were children. Several victims remained in critical care in hospital.

During Tuesday’s court appearance, Judge Kevin Costello said the $5m bail was due to the suspect’s “extraordinary” criminal history and because he had fled previous charges in Wisconsin and Nevada.

“I have not seen anything like this in my very long career,” Judge Costello said.

The other victims have been named as Virginia Sorenson, 79; LeAnna Owen, 71; Jane Kulich, 52; Wilhelm Hospel, 81; and Tamara Durand, 52.

A medical examiner has concluded they died of “multiple blunt force injuries”, according to a criminal complaint released on Tuesday.

According to the complaint, Brooks ignored officers’ attempts to leave the parade route before accelerating his vehicle into the crowd.

One officer said the driver looked like he “had no emotion on his face”.

Police said the red Ford Escape SUV “appeared to be intentionally moving side to side” and witnesses felt this was “a direct intent to hit as many parade participants”.

One officer shot three rounds into the SUV, but failed to stop it. Brooks was not hit by the bullets, police have said.

You may read: Wisconsin parade incident driver to be charged with homicide

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