Car drives off overpass during police chase in West Allis

WISN 12 News obtained dramatic new video showing the moment a car plunged from an overpass onto the highway below. It happened during a police chase Aug. 26 on Lincoln Avenue in West Allis. The car ended up at the bottom of I-894. Two officers and the driver and passenger of the car went to the hospital that night. Investigators said West Allis police officers attempted to stop the driver for speeding and said he failed to stop. Instead, he led officers on a chase that ended in the rollover accident. According to investigators, 24-year-old Eduardo Gomez-Peralta was behind the wheel. An officer’s dashcam video shows the car crash through the Lincoln Avenue fence. Another officer’s dashboard camera video shows officers driving to the crashed car after its tires landed on the pavement. The video shows Gomez-Peralta and a passenger getting out of the car. An officer uses his Taser on Gomez-Peralta and both he and the passenger fall to the ground. Officers handcuffed both Gomez-Peralta and the passenger. According to the criminal complaint, Gomez-Peralta told officers he drank six beers and smoked marijuana before getting behind the wheel. Officers arrested Gomez-Peralta and charged the passenger with THC. Prosecutors charged Gomez-Peralta with fleeing or eluding an officer resulting in serious bodily injury and second-degree recklessly endangering safety, both felonies. He was also charged with operating while intoxicated and causing injury, which is a misdemeanor. Court records show Gomez-Peralta previously pleaded guilty in a police chase involving Greenfield officers in 2020. For this he received a suspended sentence. Gomez-Peralta is due back in court Wednesday on charges related to the West Allis chase and crash. He has yet to be appointed as a lawyer.