Sentencing Details
Elijahwan H. Shabazz, a Milwaukee man who pleaded guilty to causing a crash during a police chase that resulted in a school bus flipping over, has been sentenced to 11½ years in prison. The sentence was handed down by Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn H. Yamahiro on Tuesday. In addition to the prison term, Shabazz will serve eight years of extended supervision following his release.
Judge’s Remarks
Judge Yamahiro characterized the crash, which occurred in November and resulted in multiple hospitalizations, as “one of the worst” cases of reckless driving he has encountered in over 20 years on the bench. Fortunately, no children were on the bus at the time, though the 72-year-old bus driver sustained injuries and required treatment.
“It’s a minor miracle no one is dead from this,” Judge Yamahiro commented.
Charges and Plea
Shabazz, 27, pleaded guilty in June to several charges including first-degree recklessly endangering safety, neglecting a child, eluding an officer, hit-and-run involving injury, and bail jumping.
Incident Details
Prosecutors detailed that Shabazz was driving a car that Milwaukee police suspected was linked to a homicide in Chicago. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, Shabazz fled, leading to a high-speed chase. The pursuit ended with Shabazz crashing into a school bus, causing it to flip and collide with several other vehicles.
A 3-year-old child in Shabazz’s car suffered a facial gash, and a 26-year-old passenger in the vehicle, as well as the driver of another car, were also injured.
Prosecution Statement
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Torbenson noted that authorities do not believe Shabazz was involved in the Chicago homicide under investigation at the time of the chase.
