Driver accused in Milwaukee crash with school bus had 4 open felony cases dating to 2018

The driver who allegedly fled police and caused a crash involving four cars and two buses last week has four open felony cases dating to 2018, according to court records.

Elijahwan H. Shabazz, 26, of Milwaukee now has a fifth open case in which he is charged with nine more felonies in connection with the Nov. 29 crash that injured himself and four other people, including a three-year-old child and the mother.

In 2018 and 2019, Shabazz was charged in two separate cases involving allegations of illegal drug and firearm possession. In each case, he was freed on signature bonds totaling $1,350, meaning he did not have to pay the money upfront to be released.

In February 2021, he pleaded guilty to charges associated with the 2019 case but a sentencing hearing was delayed.

In the meantime, in April and July of that year, Shabazz racked up two more felony cases, the first of which involved more allegations of drug possession. In the second case, he was accused of hitting a 16-year-old pedestrian with his car and was charged with hit-and-run causing great harm, a felony.

Shabazz posted a $2,500 bail three days after being charged in the April case. In the July case, he posted a $2,800 bail before his first court appearance – which wasn’t scheduled until March 2022.

He stopped attending court hearings for all of his cases after posting his last bail and warrants were issued for his arrest, according to court records.

Shabazz has not yet been assigned a permanent attorney. At his first court appearance Sunday, Shabazz was ordered to undergo a competency evaluation.

According to the criminal complaint:

Sometime before noon on Nov. 29, a radio call informed Milwaukee officers about a black Dodge Durango with Illinois license plates that was reported stolen and involved in a homicide in Chicago.

A squad car attempted a traffic stop of the Dodge near North 91st Street and West Fond du Lac Avenue, but the Dodge fled and police initiated a pursuit.

The chase lasted six and a half miles, with speeds reaching as high 90 mph in a 45 mph zone. The Dodge ran two stop signs, six red lights and drove into oncoming traffic multiple times. Police deployed a tire deflation device which struck the Dodge but did not immediately stop it.

On the sixth red light, at the intersection of North 76th Street and West Capitol Drive, the Dodge crashed into a yellow school bus occupied only by a driver who just dropped off 35 students at a school two miles away.

The collision forced the bus onto its side and the two vehicles then struck four others, including a Milwaukee County bus.

Shabazz immediately fled the Dodge on foot but was apprehended. Inside the Dodge were a three-year-old child and the mother. They and two others suffered injuries.

During a hospital interview with police, Shabazz cried and told officers he could not believe he drove that way with a child in the car.

Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.