Fatal hit-and-run accident in Milwaukee, woman accused of drunk driving

MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee woman is accused of driving while intoxicated after she struck two sisters – one died and the other was injured – and fled late Saturday night.

Prosecutors have charged 34-year-old Stephanie Sykes in the case. Talise Dunmore, 20, died in the accident and her 23-year-old sister De-Lisha Dunmore was injured.

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According to a criminal complaint, officers arrived at the scene near 76th Street and Good Hope shortly after midnight on Sunday, Sept. 22. Two witnesses told police they saw a white car speeding down 76th Street. One witness saw the car hit two pedestrians, while the other witness “heard a loud noise” and looked up and saw that two pedestrians had been struck. Both witnesses said the white car did not stop. One of the witnesses followed the white car and took a photo of its license plate before driving back to the scene.

Talise Dunmore, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the indictment, an autopsy determined her preliminary cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma. The medical examiner said the car that struck Dunmore was traveling at about 80 miles per hour and pushed the woman 50 to 75 feet.

Talise Dunmore and De-Lisha Dunmore

Prosecutors said 23-year-old De-Lisha Dunmore was taken to a hospital and later spoke to investigators. She said she lost consciousness when she was hit and could not remember any details of the accident. She is now recovering at home with broken bones.

A lieutenant with the Milwaukee Fire Department told police he saw a white car with significant front-end damage parked on the side of the road on 76th Street, the complaint states. It had the same license plate as the vehicle the witness took a photo of. The lieutenant saw a woman get up from the driver's seat and get into the passenger seat of a black vehicle parked next to the white car. The lieutenant took photos of the car and the woman.

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The complaint states that officers arrested the woman, since identified as Sykes, around 2:30 a.m. She was taken to the District 4 police station and given a breathalyzer test, during which Sykes said, “I can't do that.” She refused to submit to a blood test, but a search warrant was obtained and a sample was taken. The blood kit was sent to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, where a toxicologist found a blood alcohol content of .081 – just above the legal limit.

In an interview, prosecutors said Sykes told a detective she had been “passing out” and “going out every now and then,” but that she was feeling better at the police station. She had started drinking beer around 7 p.m. Saturday when someone brought tequila, and they began “drinking shot after shot.” She believes she drank two or three beers and took five double shots of tequila. She identified the white car seen in the photos as hers and herself as the woman seen getting out of the vehicle.

According to the lawsuit, a check of Skye's driving record revealed four previous convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol – the most recent in August 2012. At the time of the fatal hit-and-run, she was under a license restriction: “No driving with a blood alcohol level above 0.02.”

Overall, Sykes is accused of:

• Killing by drunk driving
• Killing by driving while under the influence of alcohol in a vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration
• Hit and run resulting in death

Sykes has not yet appeared in court.