Butler Man Dies in Crash on Capitol Drive in Tosa

A 33-year-old Butler resident died early Tuesday when he lost control of his pickup truck and crashed into a bridge abutment on West Capitol Drive in Wauwatosa.

Russell D. Thompson was declared dead at the scene of the accident in the 11100 block of Capitol, according to the police report. Accident investigators said Thompson was traveling westbound at about 12:45 a.m. when his truck veered into the median. When its wheel struck the curb for the eastbound lanes, the truck swerved back to the right and into the abutment.

Thompson died of blunt force trauma, the medical examiner said. He was not wearing his seat belt, according to police.

Thompson had been visiting a woman in Milwaukee and was on his way home. She told officers he had two drinks while he was at her home, but she didn't know whether he was intoxicated when he left.

Thompson's parents said that he took medication for a back injury, and his employer said that he was concerned that a new medication he had changed to recently made him "loopy" and that he was worried it wouldn't mix with alcohol.

Police reviewed video footage shot in the area during a traffic stop of another driver and from a traffic monitoring camera and got two views of Thompson driving on Capitol just before the accident. They showed him driving safely, using his signals and traveling consistent with the speed limit.

The police report did not indicate that a toxicology report was being sought. Officers theorized that Thompson either fell asleep at the wheel or lost control while reaching for something across the cab of his pickup.

Tosa police contacted the state Department of Transportation to check the integrity of the bridge. Officers said the crash was so severe that there was some visible movement of the abutment, and a "support section" was sheered off and fell onto Menomonee River Parkway below.