Family members are speaking out after a police chase ended in a crash with an uninvolved driver

A police pursuit that ended in an accident on Monday evening resulted in serious injuries to one officer and three unauthorized persons.

The suspect initially pursued by police is still at large.

The car that hit the officer’s patrol car was driven by eighteen-year-old Sania Ferguson.

Family members told TMJ4’s Mariam Mackar that the police chases are doing more harm than good.

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

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

A police car collided with an 18-year-old man’s car while passing through the intersection at Sherman Blvd. and North Ave. before hitting a bus shelter and a fire hydrant.

The person being chased managed to escape.

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

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

In a statement, Milwaukee police said Ferguson was arrested at the hospital even though he was not involved in the pursuit.

Her family claims it was because she was driving on a suspended license.

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

“It hurt a lot because as a mother you’re supposed to comfort your child,” Atkins said.

In this difficult situation, Ferguson’s relatives support an end to police chases and encourage people not to run away from the police.

“We can advocate for people to stop chasing vehicles and find a safer way to catch criminals or people who are trying to get away,” Burks said. “I also want to talk to people who are on the right path – you are hurting people. Just stop!”

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