Nearly four weeks after a fatal Highway 164 crash, the dump truck driver involved says the collision has upended his life. Kim Brown says he was cleared after 22-year-old Noah Bautch was killed, but recurring visions, sleep problems and anxiety have kept him away from work. The official investigation, however, remains publicly open.
Brown, a Milwaukee native who has driven dump trucks for about a decade, said he was traveling south on Highway 164 when he saw Bautch walking along the emergency lane, according to TMJ4 News. He said onboard video captured the collision and that several drivers stopped to provide witness accounts.
The official timeline is narrower but clear. In a July 6 news release, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office said deputies received reports of a vehicle-versus-pedestrian crash at about 2:07 p.m. near Lawnsdale Road in the Village of Waukesha. Bautch suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, while southbound Highway 164 was closed during the investigation.
Brown Says He Was Cleared, But Officials Haven’t Said Case Is Closed
Brown said he submitted to a blood draw and other testing, received no citations and was told he had been cleared. That remains his account; the sheriff’s office has not publicly confirmed that investigators formally cleared him, said whether the case is complete or explained what led Bautch into the roadway…