27 tickets, no charges before deadly crash: ‘Too many slaps on the wrist’
By James Stratton
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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — A deadly crash at 76th Street and Florist Avenue forever changed the lives of the friends and family of Taylor Poirier and the life of Navarus Campbell.
Campbell didn’t have a driver’s license and had 27 suspension and revocation tickets when he was speeding on West Florist Avenue and hit Poirier and his two kids inside their gold Buick. The crash killed Poirier.
“He was the best dad ever,” said Hannah Marsden, Poirier’s partner and the mother of his children. “I mean, the kids wanted to go anywhere he went.”
Marsden and Poirier’s two kids were hurt, and Marsden was pregnant with twins at the time of the 2023 crash.
“I think they’re coming to terms with the fact that dad being gone is something that’s permanent now,” she said. “You know, there really is no way to explain it to them. They pretty much understand.”
Campbell, ticketed 27 times, shouldn’t have been driving. Yet, continued to rack up ticket after ticket. Judge Michelle Havas sentenced Campbell to 20 years for the deadly crash and for later running from police. Campbell was driving in a legal loophole that 12 News uncovered and investigated for more than two years.
Drivers without a license weren’t paying their first ticket. Then, the state was classifying their non-existent licenses as “suspended.” Police across the state then wrote suspension tickets, instead of charging them for not having a license. The second time they were caught without a license should have been a misdemeanor charge; instead, they were racking up tickets.
After WISN 12 News uncovered the problem, the state changed its classification of drivers like Campbell, effectively closing the loophole. Milwaukee police also changed standard policy after our investigation.
WISN 12 News wrote letters to unlicensed, “loophole” drivers in prison who were the focus of our reporting. Campbell was the only one to respond and agree to an interview. 12 News went to the Racine Correctional Facility, a Department of Corrections prison, where Campbell is serving time.
“It’s not a day that goes past that I don’t think about what happened that day,” he said. “I wish I could have done things differently and would have done things differently.”
Campbell says he was late to work on the day of the crash.
“I do fault myself for speeding,” he said. “Things could have probably been different if I wasn’t speeding.”
Campbell told WISN 12 News he didn’t know he was driving in the legal loophole, but did know he was not going to jail for not having a license. Yet, still drove illegally again and again. He claims the tickets started stacking up when he and his brother were both giving his identity to police. Campbell kept driving to get to work to provide for his seven kids.
“It’s almost like a slap on the wrist,” he said. “So, you get too many slaps on the wrists, it’s like ‘Okay, it shouldn’t get worse than this.’ That’s how I was thinking.”
“You’re telling me that misdemeanor charge might have woken you up to stop driving?” investigative reporter James Stratton asked.
“Yes,” Campbell responded.
Milwaukee police and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office are arresting more drivers after the policy change.
“The reckless driving in Wisconsin, it needs to stop,” Campbell said. “I hope that my story can change people’s lives,” Campbell said.
“Nothing will ever be enough,” Marsden said. “Nothing can compare to what I’ve lost, what my children have lost. There’s no time limit that could make up for that.”
Marsden said she is now taking care of her kids alone. She set up this GoFundMe to raise money for a new vehicle.
“I don’t think I forgave myself,” Campbell said. “Like I say, I took a man away from his family.”
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