A crash that St. Francis police initially described as leaving one person dead and another critically injured has now claimed a second life. The 68-year-old male driver died at a local hospital after the vehicle he was driving crossed the centerline, spun, and struck a utility pole and a large tree on South Lake Drive, near the FBI Milwaukee Field Office.
According to CBS 58, the driver had initially been reported in critical condition following the crash before he died from his injuries later the same day, raising the crash’s death toll to two people. His passenger, a 67-year-old St. Francis woman, had already died from her injuries at the hospital, according to FOX6 News Milwaukee, which first reported the crash. St. Francis police and fire units responded jointly to the scene after a 7:21 a.m. dispatch Thursday.
How the Crash Unfolded
Police say the driver was traveling southbound on South Lake Drive when the vehicle crossed the centerline, spun, and struck a utility pole before coming to a stop against a large tree. FOX6 crews that went to the scene found investigators still working to determine what caused the vehicle to leave its lane. Preliminary findings from the investigation indicate the driver experienced a medical emergency before losing control, per attribution from St. Francis police, though the investigation remains ongoing.
The stretch of road where the crash happened sits along a corridor lined with notable institutional neighbors. The crash site along South Lake Drive sits directly adjacent to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Pastoral Center and the FBI Milwaukee Field Office at 3600 South Lake Drive, according to the Catholic Herald, and emergency responders closed portions of the roadway near those facilities during the morning investigation.
A Road With a History and a Legal Wrinkle
South Lake Drive, part of Highway 32, carries a posted speed limit of 30 mph through St. Francis, shifting between two-lane and five-lane configurations before dropping to 25 mph once it crosses into neighboring Cudahy, according to Cudahy Municipal Government records. The arterial connects South Shore suburbs to downtown Milwaukee and has seen major incidents before; in March 2022, a high-speed police pursuit that began in Cudahy ended in a crash near South Lake Drive and Packard Avenue after a fleeing suspect fired shots at officers and escaped into the woods near the FBI building, a case that ended in a 10-year prison sentence handed down in June 2023, as reported by FOX6 News Milwaukee…