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Bail set at $5 million for suspect in deadly Wisconsin parade crash

Christmas Parade SUV
Christmas-Parade-SUV
Posted at 5:15 PM, Nov 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-23 18:17:54-05

A Wisconsin judge set bail at $5 million for Darrell Brooks Jr. He is accused of driving his vehicle through a parade route in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing and injuring numerous people.

Brooks Jr. is charged with intentional homicide in the deaths of five people. However, more charges are likely.

The state revealed Tuesday that another victim died. Scripps Station TMJ4 confirmed that the victim is 8-year-old Jackson Sparks.

More than 60 people were injured on Sunday. Several are still in critical condition.

The Associated Press reports that witnesses told police that the vehicle Brooks Jr. was driving “appeared to be intentionally moving side to side,” and didn't slow down when it struck people.

Brooks Jr. faces a mandatory life sentence if he's convicted on a first-degree intentional homicide charge.

Brooks Jr. has a lengthy criminal history. Court records show that on Nov. 2, the mother of Brooks Jr.'s child reported that he had punched her in the face while she was at a gas station in Milwaukee.

After Brooks Jr. allegedly struck her, a criminal complaint alleges Brooks Jr. ran over the woman with his maroon SUV. She was taken to the hospital and treated for her injuries, where "officers observed tire tracks on her left pants leg."

Brooks Jr. was arrested, but released from jail on a $1,000 bond on Nov. 11. The local district attorney had asked for $1,000 bail despite Brooks Jr. being out on bail over a July 2020 gun charge. During a fight, Brooks Jr. allegedly fired a gun at his nephew as his nephew was leaving the confrontation.