MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — A 55-year-old man is under arrest after he allegedly ran down a cyclist in broad daylight, sped away, and then tried to cover his tracks by reporting his own truck stolen.
The victim, 64-year-old Walter “Wally” Williams, was riding his bicycle across Vliet Street just after 5:30 p.m. on Friday when a pickup truck traveling north struck him near North 17th Street.
Williams suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene. A bystander who identified themselves as a medical student performed CPR until emergency crews arrived, but could not save him.
How Police Caught the Suspect
The driver did not stop.
Investigators pulled surveillance footage from cameras near the intersection and got a description of the pickup within minutes. The city’s Flock camera system then tracked the vehicle near Washington Park shortly after the crash.
About 30 minutes after the collision, a man living just blocks from the scene called 911 to report his truck stolen — claiming it had been taken while he worked on it outside his home. Investigators say his timeline did not match the evidence.
Police arrested the 55-year-old man later that evening.
A Family Left Devastated
To his family, Walter Williams was more than a victim. He was a father who loved his freedom and had fought hard to keep it.
“He rode that bike everywhere. Nothing stopped him. He just loved to be free,” his daughter Temeria Hubbard said.
Williams had battled cancer and survived. Hubbard says losing him this way makes the grief even harder to carry.
“He went through a lot fighting cancer, and this is how he leaves me. It’s so unfair,” she said.
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