Man pleads guilty to homicide while intoxicated in crash that killed pastor
A Milwaukee man who drove through four red lights and killed Wisconsin Pastor Aaron Strong after crashing into him has pleaded guilty in court of vehicular homicide while intoxicated.
Jose Silva, 23, who crashed into the car of the 40-year-old pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in downtown Milwaukee on Oct. 12, 2022, pleaded guilty on Friday, CBS' Milwaukee affiliate reported, adding that a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for April 20. He had previously been charged with second-degree reckless homicide.
The pastor died at a local hospital and an autopsy suggested he died from multiple blunt-force injuries.
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Authorities estimated Silva was speeding at 74 mph just before the accident, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said at the time. He told police he was running late for jury duty at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
Surveillance from Marquette University showed Silva’s car speeding prior to the crash, according to the complaint, which also said he didn’t apply the brakes until two seconds before the crash. The video also showed the car running a red light while driving the wrong way.
Prosecutors said he ran four red lights before crashing into the pastor’s car while intoxicated.
Grace Downtown announced Strong’s death on Facebook last October, asking people to “keep Abbie Strong and their children, Hannah and Elijah, in your prayers.”
“Like Job, the question ‘Why?’ troubles all of us regarding this tragedy. Like Job, we are reminded that our majestic God does not always provide an answer to that question. But what brings us everlasting comfort is that God’s mercy shines as bright as his majesty,” stated the church.
The Rev. Brian Hackmann, an outreach pastor at Grace, remembered Pastor Strong as “a person that was full of joy.”
“He was full of life,” Hackman was quoted as saying. “He had a smile on his face, an infectious laugh. He was a person that was pretty easy to get along with. … He had the love of Jesus in his heart in a big way.”
Strong had preached his final sermon the previous Sunday, titling it “The Gift That Keeps on Giving” and focused his remarks on 2 Corinthians 9:10-15.
