GLENDALE, WI — A Kenosha man is facing criminal charges after a high-speed chase that began during the early hours of Aug. 27 in Glendale and ended with a crash in Fox Point that injured a 1-year-old child.
Milwaukee County prosecutors say Steven Pokorny, 32, is accused of fleeing an officer, endangering safety, neglecting a child, child abandonment and obstructing an officer. The case stems from a pursuit that started near Bayshore Mall and allegedly topped out at 97 mph before the wreck.
Police say the child was found bleeding in the back seat of the crashed vehicle after officers reached the scene. Pokorny was later found hiding in a yard nearby, according to court filings.
Officer at Bayshore Mall spots a Chevy Trax tied to a warrant
According to the criminal complaint, the chase began around 3 a.m. when a Glendale officer on patrol near Bayshore Mall noticed a white 2022 Chevy Trax with a temporary Wisconsin plate.
A records check showed the vehicle’s registered owner was Pokorny, who had a felony full-extradition warrant from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. That prompted the officer to attempt a traffic stop, prosecutors say.
Instead of pulling over, the driver accelerated away and led police on the pursuit. The complaint says the vehicle reached speeds of 97 mph during the chase, turning what began as a traffic stop into a dangerous overnight run through the area.
Fox Point officers find smashed windows, deployed airbags and a bleeding child
Shortly after 3 a.m., Fox Point officers were sent to a crash at Boyd Way and Lake Drive. When they arrived, they found the white Chevy Trax badly damaged, with its windows smashed and airbags deployed.
Inside the vehicle, officers discovered a child standing in the back seat and bleeding, according to the complaint. Prosecutors say the crash was tied to the earlier Glendale pursuit, linking the two departments’ calls into one unfolding incident.
The child’s age was listed as 1 year old in the charging document. No additional details were provided about the child’s condition beyond the injury noted by police.
Police say Pokorny ran from the wreck and was caught nearby
After the crash, prosecutors say Pokorny fled the scene on foot. Police later tracked him down hiding in a yard near Boyd Way and Calumet Road, not far from the wreck location.
The complaint says officers were able to locate him after the crash, bringing the chase to an end in Fox Point. The court filings do not describe any injuries to Pokorny or to any responding officers.
The arrest tied together the driving allegations, the crash scene and the child welfare charges now filed against him. Those accusations focus not just on the pursuit, but on the decision to leave the scene with a child in the car.
Pokorny told investigators a friend was driving
In an interview with investigators, Pokorny claimed that a friend had been driving the SUV and said any officer who reported trying to stop him was lying, according to the complaint.
Detectives also noted that the passenger-side airbag did not deploy, which court filings say is standard when a vehicle detects no occupant in that seat. That detail was included as part of the investigation into who was in the vehicle and where people were seated.
The complaint does not say whether investigators accepted Pokorny’s account. Instead, the charging documents present the police version of events, the crash findings and the warrant information that led to the attempted stop.
Charges and case records point to Milwaukee County prosecutors
Pokorny is charged with vehicle operator flee or elude officer causing damage to property, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, neglecting a child, child abandonment and obstructing an officer.
The information in the case was provided by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. Those records form the basis for the allegations now moving through the court system.
Police also noted that Racine police had issued a lookout for Pokorny in connection with a domestic violence incident. That detail was included in the complaint as background for the search that unfolded before the chase and crash.
Local news that matters, from Dulaney Griffin.
