Suspect in three-vehicle crash that killed one charged with reckless homicide, more felonies

The suspect accused of killing one in a three-vehicle car crash was charged with first-degree reckless homicide and six other felonies Tuesday.

The 25-year-old suspect, Jaquon Lee-Lamont Benson, is facing charges for a May 3 three-vehicle crash on the 2700 block of W. Locust Street that killed 41-year-old man and injured five others while driving a car with a stolen license plate.

The criminal complaint against Benson charged him with seven felonies.

He is facing charges for first-degree reckless homicide; knowingly operating a motor vehicle without a valid license and causing death; three counts of first-degree reckless injury; first-degree recklessly endangering safety; and the possession of an automatic weapon.

According to the complaint:

At about 9:18 p.m., a Milwaukee Police Department officer saw a gray Infiniti G37 run a red light while traveling west on W. Center Street and N. 27th Street. The officer and his partner searched the license plate of the vehicle and discovered it was stolen and followed the vehicle.

As they followed the car and drew close, the driver “darted out into the intersection” of W. Elder Wallace Drive and N. 27th Street, cutting off traffic and turning left, to travel northbound on N. 27th Street.

The officer chased the driver and saw the car move to the southbound lane to pass five vehicles that were waiting for a red light. As the Infiniti ran the red light, it struck a white minivan and flipped it onto its side, where the van then hit an SUV.

The driver of the vehicle fled from the Infiniti, and, after a short foot chase, police arrested the driver, who police later identified as Benson. Police returned to Benson’s vehicle and found a handgun modified to be automatic. An officer later confirmed that it was fully automatic.

Police then found that a passenger in the minivan had died from his injuries at about 9:58 p.m. The driver of the van had fractured his neck and his left leg. Another passenger faced severe head trauma and lacerations to his legs.

The three occupants of the SUV included a parent and their two children. None of the three had major injuries.

A passenger in Benson’s car suffered a fractured right leg and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

In an interview with a police detective, Benson said he left a Brady Street bar about 9 p.m. and fled from police after he noticed them following him. He told the detective that he purchased the car, the gray Infiniti G37, on Facebook Marketplace for $6,000 and had yet to register it.

He also said he didn’t have a valid driver’s license and did not want to get the car towed. Benson’s plan was to get “far enough ahead of the squad car so that he could pull over and get out of the car and walk away.”

Benson, who police found did not have a valid driver’s license, admitted to the detective that he knew he was entering a red light and that he ran from police after the car crash. He said the modified automatic handgun was a friend’s and he was holding on to it for the friend temporarily.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee man charged with reckless homicide in three-vehicle crash that killed one