Family members speak out after a police chase ended in a crash involving a driver

A police chase that ended in a crash Monday night seriously injured one officer and three bystanders.

The suspect, who was initially pursued by police, is still at large.

Eighteen-year-old Saniya Ferguson was driving the car that hit the officer’s patrol car.

Family members told TMJ4’s Mariam Makkar that police chases do more harm than good.

“Sania called me and said, ‘Mom, the police hit me,'” Ferguson’s mother Epsey Atkins recalled.

Atkins told TMJ4 that just after 6:30 Monday night, she learned her daughter’s car had been hit by a police car involved in the chase.

A patrol car collided with the 18-year-old’s car as he was crossing the intersection on Sherman Blvd. and North Avenue before crashing into a bus stop and a fire hydrant.

The person they were chasing managed to escape.

When Atkins and Ferguson’s grandmother, Shada Burks, arrived at Fredtert Hospital, they had one question for the officers present:

– What happened? Burks remembers asking. “He said, ‘We were in pursuit and we were chasing some Audi or some other car and we hit your granddaughter.’

The Milwaukee Police Department said in a statement that although he was not involved in the pursuit, Ferguson was arrested at the hospital.

Her family says it’s because she was driving on a suspended license.

They tell TMJ4 they haven’t been able to talk to her because she’s still in custody.

“It hurts so much because as a mother you have to comfort your child,” Atkins said.

Due to the ordeal, Ferguson’s loved ones are advocating an end to police chases and encouraging people not to run from the police.

“We can be advocates for ending vehicle pursuits and finding a safer way to apprehend criminals or those who want to flee,” Burks said. “And I also want to talk to the people who are running — you’re hurting people. Just stop!”

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