Costs of 2022 Truck Crash Continuing To Mount For Milwaukee
Legal settlements paid by city are already well over $1 million.
A Department of Public Works truck in front of dollar bills. Truck photo by Jeramey Jannene, cash photo is in the public domain.
The City of Milwaukee has approved another settlement stemming from a deadly 2022 crash caused by a Department of Public Works driver, pushing the city’s known payouts from the incident to more than $1.37 million.
DPW employee Denise Durrah, 64, was driving a city heavy-duty pickup truck southbound on N. Mayfair Road on Dec. 13, 2022, when it struck multiple vehicles near W. Wisconsin Avenue in Wauwatosa. The 10-vehicle crash killed Durrah, Amy Miller, 40, and Paul Woida, 85, and injured others.
A medical examiner’s report estimated Durrah was driving 60 to 70 miles per hour.
The Common Council approved the latest $125,000 settlement on Sept. 22 with Kristin S. Noack and Barbara R. Smith, who filed a state negligence claim against the city. Mayor Cavalier Johnson signed the resolution Sept. 23.
Noack and Smith sued the city in 2024. The case, according to online court records, is scheduled for a jury trial in November.
The settlement was never discussed in open session. Noack and Smith are represented by Gingras, Thomsen & Wachs.
It is the fourth known settlement stemming from the crash.
The city previously agreed to pay $500,000 each to the families of Miller and Woida. It also approved a $247,300 settlement to three parties: Terry Davis, Jr., who sustained “significant, permanent injuries,” his attorney James Scoptur and American Family Insurance.
The four settlements total $1,372,300.
Police reports indicated Durrah made no apparent attempt to slow before the collision. Durrah had a history of seizures, according to statements her relatives and coworkers provided to Wauwatosa police.
Before the fatal collision, the DPW truck was involved in a minor crash near Watertown Plank Road and continued south on Mayfair Road.
In addition to the settlements, the truck Durrah was driving was totaled. Images of the scene show it was engulfed in flames.
Durrah, according to the medical examiner, died from “thermal injuries and smoke inhalation.”
DPW, in a December 2022 press release issued two days after the crash, praised her past work and said she was a member of the street maintenance section working on a pothole filling crew.
“During her time with DPW, Denise was highly regarded among co-workers and supervisors as a gracious and hardworking person. In 2019, she was recognized for a heroic action, rescuing a mother and baby. And in her free time, she was known to be active as a Minister at Greater New Birth Church,” said the department.
Legislation Link - Urban Milwaukee members see direct links to legislation mentioned in this article. Join today
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
