Vehicles drive past a fence that was damaged during a crash on Sept. 14, 2022, on West Fond du Lac Avenue and West Congress Street. The City of Milwaukee has launched a campaign urging motorists to slow down. (Angela Major / WPR)
By Edgar Mendez
This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Visit milwaukeenns.org.
For Mariah Johnson, losing her brother to a speeding driver in 2021 is the hardest thing she’s ever endured in her life.
“The moment my brother died, I felt like my light turned out a little bit,” said Johnson, a 30-year-old mother of two girls. “But, I also think that I went through this so I can make a difference in my city, take my pain of the loss of my brother and turn it into something that helps other people.”
Johnson’s brother, Jerrold Wellinger, was driving back home with his friend, Davante Gaines, when both were killed by a driver who was racing another car down 60th Street and Hampton Avenue.
A popular TikToker, who goes by the name MariahDaWeatherBookie, Johnson is sharing her brother’s story as part of an effort by the City of Milwaukee to prevent reckless driving.
“Speeding – We Can Live Without It,” is a social media billboard and grassroots awareness campaign that aims to increase traffic safety and change driving habits in a city plagued by reckless driving.
“These are our streets,” Johnson said. “As a community we need to come together and stop (reckless driving). We can all slow down.”
Campaign resonates with residents
Slowing down, said Jessica Wineberg, director of the Vision Zero Initiative for the City of Milwaukee, is a surefire way to help prevent tragedies such as Johnson’s.
Balloons hang at a memorial for Lashonda Jackson, 31, Bobbie Dyson, 28, and Ebony Johnson, 28, three friends who were killed by a driver who ran a red light in 2023 near West Florist Avenue and North Sherman Boulevard. (Photo provided by Jessica Wineberg)
“You could be that person who hits someone and changes their life forever, or you can just slow down,” she said.
So far, according to Wineberg, the campaign is resonating with residents, with one video garnering more than 200,000 views on social media.
Billboards featuring the campaign have also been placed at intersections in the city that have experienced crash-related injuries.
Community members share their stories
Milwaukee residents who have been impacted by speeding have been sharing their messages on a social wall created as part of the campaign.
One story was about Marcus Robinson, a father of four who was hit and killed by a speeding SUV in downtown Milwaukee on Aug. 11.
“Marcus never made it home to his family and the driver of that (sports utility vehicle) never stopped and still has not been arrested. Now his loved ones are forced to go on without him and without having justice,” read the post.
Another message was shared by Gloria Shaw, a woman who lost her only son, Xavier Davis, to a hit-and-run in 2022.
“He was an amazing young man with a very bright future ahead of him in TV video production,” Shaw wrote. “We are still looking for the truck and person who hit and killed my Sonshine.”
According to Wineberg, traffic deaths and injuries are down compared to last year.
“Where we have changed the built environment, we are seeing less crashes,” said Wineberg, referring to the wide-scale engineering changes that have been implemented as part of the Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic deaths in the city.
Jerrold’s story
Raised on Milwaukee’s North Side, Jerrold Wellinger was quite the character, said his sister. Sometimes, Johnson said, he was the next Tony Hawk and other times, a wrestler.
Jerrold Wellinger and his sisters, Mariah Johnson (center) and Kassie Gaspardo, enjoy a day at the lake in 2021. He was killed by a reckless driver later that year. (Photo provided by Mariah Johnson)
“We grew up poor with a single mother, but we always rented Wrestlemania,” she said. “My brother would be flipping off the couch watching it.”
She described him as strong willed and not afraid to speak his mind, but like her, he had a silly side.
“He was the one person in life that understood my personality, because we both are goofy,” Johnson said.
Turning tragedy into action
Johnson said her brother’s death led her to community work, leading chats with kids about reckless driving and conducting other outreach on the issue. She currently works with teens as a program coordinator for the PEAK Initiative.
PEAK is a year-round program that promotes leadership development for kids from first grade through high school.
Through PEAK, Johnson has been able to help organize a block party and pop-ups, where she urges residents to think about how their driving can impact others.
“I tell them, it’s not just speeding, it’s driving while on your phone or even just driving 10 miles over the speed limit,” she said. “We all have to be honest with ourselves and realize that we are all part of the problem, but we’re also the solution.”
Reckless driving prevention information and resources
Learn more about the City of Milwaukee’s Vision Zero plan.
The “Speeding: We can live without it” website offers resources and information to help prevent reckless driving.