A woman alleges that Darrell E. Brooks Jr., the Wisconsin man suspected of plowing his SUV through the Waukesha Christmas parade on Sunday — killing five people and injuring over 40 others — intentionally ran her over with his vehicle earlier this month, according to a Monday report.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:
Darrell Brooks Jr., the man suspected of being the driver, has been charged three times in less than two years with recklessly endangering the safety of others, most recently on Nov. 5 as part of a domestic abuse incident for which he was also charged with resisting or obstructing an officer. In the case this month, a woman told police Brooks purposefully ran her “over with his vehicle” while she was walking through a gas station parking lot after he had followed her there after a fight, according to the criminal complaint. The woman was hospitalized for her injuries, court records show.
Brooks posted $1,000 bond on Nov. 11 in the most recent incident and was released from Milwaukee County Jail on Nov. 16, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office. He also was charged in July 2020 with two felony counts of second-degree recklessly endangering the safety of others using a dangerous weapon.
On Monday, Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, headed up by District Attorney John Chisholm, said the $1,000 bail was “inappropriately low” due to the severity of the charges.
“This office is currently conducting an internal review of the decision to make the recent bail recommendation in this matter in order to determine the appropriate next steps,” the statement read.
Parade attendees watched in horror as a red SUV sped through the annual event, ramming into members of the Waukesha South High School Blackshirt Band, and the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, which confirmed some of their members died in the tragedy.
“Those who died were extremely passionate Grannies. Their eyes gleamed … joy of being a Grannie. They were the glue … held us together,” the group said.
Six children injured in the parade were rushed to Children’s Wisconsin Hospital and are in critical condition,. Three more are in serious condition, according to local officials.