New video shows aftermath of crash that killed off-duty MPD officer Nowak

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- New body camera video shows the aftermath of the car crash that killed Milwaukee police officer James Nowak last December.

Nowak was the former partner of officer Peter Jerving, who was killed in the line of duty in February 2023.

On December 3, Nowak was driving home from a bar when he crashed into a semi-truck that was trying to turn around.

His blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit.

He died in the hospital three days later.

The videos come from the Oak Creek Police Department. They begin with officers arriving at the scene of the crash. They question the driver of the semi, collect evidence from the car, and eventually figure out the victim was officer James Nowak.

As he arrived on the scene, one Lieutenant asked, "What's the status of our driver here?" Another officer replied, "Not good."

The damage showed the seriousness of the crash. When officers first walked up to the scene, Nowak's silver sedan was crumpled beneath a semi-trailer.

Nowak was barely alive.

An officer asked, "Is he breathing?" Another said, "Yeah, he was." The first asked, "Talking at all, or no?" The answer: "Unconscious the whole time."

At first, they did not know the driver was Nowak. An officer said, "We got driver of the semi, the black coat, male, passenger of the semi, and then this guy."

As fire fighters and EMTs were worked to get him out and save his life, police officers investigated the crash.

The driver of the semi was a woman from Florida. Her husband was riding with her.

She told officers she was trying to turn around. "The GPS told me to go this way. And then I tried to go this way. But when I turned, I heard something hit the back of the trailer. He was coming straight."

She agreed to have the truck searched and she agreed to take a blood test, saying, "I will submit it. I'm all good."

The EMTs eventually got Nowak out of the car. He was stretchered to an ambulance.

Then officers found his phone.

An officer saw the photo on the phone's background and said, "Wait, can I see that phone? That's a Milwaukee cop."

Another said, "Are you serious?"

The first said, "Yeah. The MPD cop that just died, that's his partner."

Word spread quickly, and soon they found more information in Nowak's car.

An investigator said, "There's a subpoena on the center console for James Nowak."

At the same time, some of Nowak's friends had started to gather up the road.

An officer who was monitoring the scene's perimeter said, "Walker's talking with two guys over there. Apparently, they have their friend's location. And that's their friend. And it's all MPD cops."

Nowak's blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit at the time of the crash. He died three days after the crash, on December 6.

The driver of the semi was cited twice, one for an unlawful U-turn and another for failure to obey a traffic signal.