For eight-year-old Jackson Sparks, it was to be an exciting day. He would get to march in the Christmas Parade with his twelve-year-old brother and their baseball team. But, tragically little Jackson will never see another Christmas. A violent man who should have been in jail took that all away from him and his family. Jackson had suffered head injuries and was taken into the operating room, but his injuries were just too much for his frail little body.
His brother was seriously injured, but the doctors say he will be going home soon. All told, 62 people were injured when career criminal Darrell Brooks drove his red SUV through the crowd at the Waukesha Christmas Parade. Just about a week before, he ran over the mother of his child but was released on one thousand dollar bail. That means he only had to pay $100 dollars to go free. Prosecutors have asked the judge to set his bail from this incident to $5 million dollars.
CNN and the Washington Post both reported that Brooks was fleeing from police when he drove through the crowd. They were trying to give him cover and make it appear that this was not an intentional act. The Waukesha Chief of Police shut down that lie by announcing that there had been no police chase.
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin said in a statement Tuesday:
“With deepest sympathy and sorrow, Children’s Wisconsin shares that earlier Tuesday, a child being cared for at Children’s Wisconsin passed away from injuries sustained at the Waukesha parade. As family and friends learn of this loss and the name of the child is likely to become public, the child’s parents have asked that their privacy be respected. They do not wish to be contacted by media at this time.”
According to the criminal complaint, multiple officers attempted to stop the vehicle at different points on the parade route, with one officer firing three gunshots at the vehicle.
Both officers cited in the complaint say that it appeared the driver was deliberately trying to hit pedestrians and made no effort to avoid any of the collisions that occurred.
Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson during a press conference on Monday said officers were not pursuing the suspect when he entered the parade route, however, an officer did fire a shot to try to stop him but ceased firing because of the danger to others.
