Bystander hurt in high-speed Milwaukee police chase speaks out

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A man from Milwaukee is in a tough spot after a vehicle trying to outrun police last week smashed into his car.

Jason Darrough was part of the three-vehicle crash, because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Brookfield police say they chased a stolen black truck down Capitol into Milwaukee.

Officers say they ended their pursuit at 68th and Capitol, then discovered the crash at 58th and Capitol.

Darrough's car was totaled when the stolen car barreled into it.

"It looks like the thing was just crunched up like a water bottle," he said.

Darrough suffered broken fingers, wrists, toes, and cracked ribs.

"I'm not able to go back to work, unfortunately," he said. "I still have rent and electricity to pay for and now I have to figure out how I'm going to come up with all of that by the end of the month."

What happened to Darrough is not unprecedented.

In 2018, 38 Milwaukee Police Department pursuits led to uninvolved third parties being injured.

That's up 11 in 2017.

Darrough has no car for now either, so friends like King Isa Ali are helping him out.

"Life is not fair, but we can't do anything to prevent unfair things from happening to us," Ali said. "The only thing we can do is just progress and move forward."

Darrough hopes his experience can make either a criminal or police officer think twice before becoming involved in a high-speed pursuit.

"I can eventually be somebody you love: A relative, a brother, sister, uncle, dad, whatever," he said. "You just never know who is in those other vehicles when you're chasing somebody down the street."

The state of Wisconsin has a crime victim compensation program that can help pay for medical bills in cases like Darrough's.

He's also set up a GoFundMe account to help with bills.