Monique Stewart Obituary – A young man from Milwaukee, aged 18, is facing charges about a collision that resulted in the tragic deaths of a woman and her unborn child. Akol Riak has been accused of the following offenses:
– Two counts of second-degree reckless homicide
– Three counts of second-degree reckless injury
– One count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety
The incident occurred shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 7, near the intersection of Brown Deer Road and Servite Drive. According to the Milwaukee Police Department, a white Chevy Equinox was traveling east on Brown Deer Road at a significantly high speed when it collided with a blue Dodge Caravan. The Caravan was traveling west on Brown Deer Road and attempting to turn north onto Servite Drive. The driver of the Dodge Caravan was a 62-year-old individual who had three passengers, aged 32, 8, and 8. All of them were immediately taken to a local hospital for medical attention.
Tragically, the pregnant 32-year-old woman, identified as Monique Stewart, and her unborn child did not survive the crash. The complaint states that the baby was kept alive until his father could be present. The driver of the Equinox, identified as Riak by authorities, was interviewed the day after the collision. According to the criminal complaint, Riak admitted to being the driver of the Equinox at the time of the incident. Riak claimed that he was on his way to pick up his cousin and was following a red car that he believed was going to turn. However, when Riak approached the intersection, he realized it was too late to stop.
When questioned about his speed, Riak initially estimated that he was traveling at 45 mph. However, when presented with surveillance footage that showed he was going faster, Riak later confessed that he was going “way faster” than the posted speed limit of 40 mph. Data downloaded from the Equinox revealed that it was traveling at 86 mph 2.5 seconds before the crash. The brake was only applied 0.5 seconds before the collision, at which point the Equinox was still traveling at a speed of 82 mph. Riak was subsequently arrested and charged. His initial court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, January 16.