‘He’s a miracle’: Wisconsin hit-and-run victim back on his feet

By Caroline Reinwald

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    BRADY, Wisconsin (WISN) — The victim in a pedestrian hit-and-run from back in May is getting back on his feet, after suffering life-threatening injuries.

Quincy Alexander, 41, broke both his legs, multiple ribs and his hip when an SUV struck him on May 29, as he was crossing Brady Street.

Milwaukee police said it happened on Brady near Arlington Place, just before 2:00 a.m.

Nearly three months later, following multiple surgeries and rehabilitation in the hospital, Alexander sat down with WISN 12 News at Jack’s Pub on Brady Street.

“I’m just taking it day by day. Step by step,” Alexander said. “Being surrounded by my friends and the people who love me and care about me, that’s the most important feeling.”

Alexander remembers the moment he was struck.

“She ran right into me, I flew up in the air. I didn’t even know it. I landed right on the ground and then somebody came by and asked if I was okay. I couldn’t even talk,” Alexander said. “Somebody was like, ‘Oh, that’s Quincy on the ground, is he OK?'”

Police still have not found the driver who struck Alexander. The silver SUV that hit him also has not been found.

“For somebody to be that heartless and just leave. Not only even if it was my son, just leave anybody in the street, laying like that, I can’t imagine,” said Mary McHatten, Alexander’s mother. “Turn yourself in. You may think you got away, but you haven’t.”

It’s clear Alexander is a popular Brady Street staple. While WISN 12 News cameras were rolling, at least a dozen people stopped him to say hello and ask how he was feeling.

“He’s just a community member you get to know and start to love. We’re so happy to have him back. We just want him to dance and do karaoke again, that’s all he talks about,” said Alex Schwind, a friend of Alexander’s. “It’s just so magical that he’s here and in high spirits with everything that happened.”

As Alexander continues to go to physical therapy for his injuries, his medical bills continue to rise. His mother says she takes work off to care for him. To help cover the costs, friends of Alexander’s are holding multiple fundraisers in the upcoming days.

One fundraiser starts at noon on Sunday at Jack’s Pub on Brady Street. Another will be held on Tuesday, August 29 starting at 5:00 at Pizza Shuttle, where Alexander worked.

Meanwhile, loved ones also urge any witnesses to help find the driver who struck Alexander.

“We’re really grateful, but more than anything, I thank God I still have my son here with me today, because it could have been a different outcome. He’s a miracle. He truly is a miracle,” McHatten said. “If someone knows something, please say something. I would never want anybody to have to go through what we went through.”

Milwaukee Police Department described the SUV as a silver Jeep Patriot, model year 2011-2017, with damage to the hood.

Alexander was the second pedestrian to be struck in a hit-and-run on Brady Street within a year. No arrests have been made in either cases.

In September 2022, Arne Bast, 32, died when a car struck him in the street on Brady, near Franklin Place. He later died in the hospital. Police said the driver kept going.

City officials are working with the Brady Street BID on increasing safety for pedestrians on Brady Street. Last week, the city painted new traffic lines to create a curve in the road near where Alexander was struck.

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