‘He has never gotten to see my sister in her wedding dress’: Milwaukee father killed in crash a month before his wedding
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee family is grieving after a crash on the city’s south side killed a 29-year-old father a month before his wedding.
D’Monte Owens
D’Monte Owens was killed Wednesday night, Jan. 7, near 76th and Morgan, just a few blocks from his home.
His sister-in-law, Savannah Lee, says Owens had just left the house when the crash happened.
“He just left to run and go get dog food, that’s all he was doing,” Lee said. “I don’t know if he was going to Walmart or what, but he barely made it 5 minutes down the road.
Owens was a father to a three-year-old daughter and was preparing to get married next month. Lee says the reality of his death still hasn’t settled in.
“This whole thing has just been extremely hard,” Lee said.
Lee says Owens walked out the door around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday night. Milwaukee police say the crash happened around 7:20 p.m.
Police say a 21-year-old driver was traveling south on 76th Street when the vehicle hit Owens’ car and spun out. That driver was taken into custody. Owens was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.
Crash near 76th and Morgan in Milwaukee
For Owens’ family, the loss is felt not only in their day-to-day lives, but in the future plans he and his fiancée were counting down to.
“They were planning on getting married in Jamaica next month and they were looking forward to that,” Lee said. “He has never gotten to see my sister in her wedding dress so that was really hard.”
Lee says crashes like this are becoming more common and hopes Owens’ story makes drivers slow down and pay attention.
“I’ve always been an advocate for safe driving,” Lee said. “It’s frustrating and concerning. Attention needs to be brought to it.”
As the family plans Owens’ funeral, they are leaning on support from the community. A Meal Train has been set up to help Owens’ fiancée and daughter. The family has also created an official Venmo account to help cover funeral costs.
The family says anyone who wants to support them or add to the memorial at the crash site is welcome to do so.
76th and Morgan