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Charges filed against Milwaukee man in fatal head-on crash in Franklin

A Milwaukee man is facing felony murder charges for allegedly driving drunk and causing a head-on crash in a Franklin construction site that killed a 74-year-old Franklin man.

According to a criminal complaint filed Nov. 6 in Milwaukee County District Court, Leonel Molina Rios, 58, faces one count of involuntary manslaughter by operating a vehicle while intoxicated and one count of knowingly operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver's license resulting in death .

If convicted on both counts, Molina Rios faces up to 31 years in prison and a $110,000 fine. In addition, if convicted of homicide, the court could impose a shared prison sentence of five years. A split sentence, under Wisconsin state law, includes a term of imprisonment followed by an extended term of supervision.

A conviction on both counts could also result in Molina Rios being disqualified from driving vehicles for up to five and a half years.

According to the criminal complaint and Franklin police:

Franklin Police were dispatched to South Lovers Lane Road and West Rawson Avenue at 6:40 p.m. on Saturday, November 2nd for a vehicle accident.

Two damaged vehicles, a 2018 Ford Expedition and a 2020 Honda CRV, were found in the 7100 block of South Lovers Lane Road.

Molina Rios drove the expedition. The Franklin man was driving the Honda.

A man who told police he was a firefighter stopped to help and administered CPR to the Franklin man. The Franklin Fire Department arrived and provided medical attention, but the 74-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy revealed he died as a result of blunt force trauma.

Molina Rios also received medical attention and was taken to West Allis Memorial Hospital.

Construction work is being carried out at the site of the collision. Northbound traffic will be diverted to one of the southbound lanes, creating oncoming traffic on that section.

A preliminary investigation by the Wisconsin State Patrol Technical Reconstruction Unit determined that the Expedition was traveling north when it crossed the center line and caused a head-on collision with the Honda.

Molina Rios spoke to police at the hospital and told officers that he had been drinking at the Irish Cottage since 3:30 p.m. that day – two shots of whiskey and three Miller Lite beers.

Officers spoke with a bartender at the Irish Cottage who said a patron named “Leo” had drunk between four and six beers and two shots of “Jack.” The bartender said Leo gave her a business card with the name “Leo Molina” and identified him as “Conquistador Radio Co-Host.”

Molina Rios told police: “He believed he was impaired as he drove away from the Irish Cottage.”

Molina Rios said he couldn't remember which vehicle collided with which, but only remembered that there was an accident.

He also told police that he previously had a Wisconsin driver's license but now only had a Wisconsin ID card.

Contact Erik S. Hanley at [email protected]. Like his Facebook page, The redheadlinerand follow him on X @Redheadliner.

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