Sheriff's deputy arrested for leaving Tosa crash scene, even though he didn't cause collision

A Milwaukee County Sheriff's deputy was arrested this weekend in Wauwatosa after he fled the scene of a two-car collision late Saturday night.

According to the Wauwatosa police report:

A two-car crash was reported at 68th Street and Bluemound Road at 11:57 p.m. Saturday. Witnesses said one of the vehicles, a 2008 Toyota Rav 4, ran a red light as it was traveling west on Bluemound Road, striking the second vehicle, a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am, which was traveling north on 68th Street.

The force of the impact knocked both vehicles to the northwest corner of the intersection.

Witnesses said the driver of the Grand Am got out of his vehicle and fled on Crescent Court. The driver of the Rav 4, a 19-year-old Greenfield woman, sustained a minor injury to her wrist but did not require medical treatment at the scene.

She was cited for a red light violation.

When police inspected the Grand Am, registered to a 32-year-old Wauwatosa man, they found citation logs and reports from the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office with the deputy's name on them. Officers searched the area but could not find the driver.

The vehicle was towed from the scene.

Police went to the man's home, but no one was there, so they left a card. The man's fiancée called about 3 a.m. and said he had not yet returned from the Brewers game, which he had attended Saturday afternoon.

At 4:20 a.m., the man called police and said he had been in an automobile accident, but he did not recall the details of the crash. He said all he remembered was waking up in a yard several hours later unable to find his vehicle, car keys and cell phone. He said he returned home about 3:15 a.m.

He also said his head hurt, but declined medical treatment when it was offered.

Police told the man to come into the police station, and he arrived there about 10 a.m. Sunday. The deputy said he did not want to make a statement or answer questions about the accident.

He was ordered to appear at the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office at 1 p.m. Thursday. Wauwatosa police plan to charge the deputy for failing to remain at the scene of an accident that involved an injury.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke has ordered an internal investigation into the arrest, as well as the arrest of another Milwaukee County deputy by Milwaukee police Saturday.

The sheriff's office will not release any more information until the internal investigation is completed, a news release issued Sunday said.