Driver charged with DUI homicide in pedestrian-vehicle fatality on North 25th and St. Paul

Todd Swessel, a 48-year-old West Allis man, was charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle for running over a pedestrian near North 25th Street and St. Paul Avenue on Feb. 11.

The victim was 37-year-old Nathan Garski who was likely panhandling in the median of the road around 6:30 p.m. Garski was pinned under Swessel's SUV when it went backward down a hill.

According to the complaint, police found the SUV partially up on the median with a man pinned under the rear axle, and Swessel unconscious behind the wheel with a beer in his lap.

The fire department arrived to lift the SUV and extract Garski. He was declared dead at the scene.

An eyewitness said he saw the SUV parked on the west side of North 25th Street for about forty minutes and that it backed down a slight incline on 25th street. The car traveled southbound through an intersection and struck Garski. The eyewitness said he went to help, but Garski was trapped under the SUV and Swessel was non-responsive.

Swessel regained consciousness when police pulled him from the vehicle. He told police he consumed four beers and later admitted to snorting heroin and smoking synthetic marijuana prior to the collision.

Swessel failed multiple field sobriety tests, was twitching and nodded off while talking with officers. He was arrested and taken to a hospital.

Swessel told a police officer he takes a gram of heroin daily and had no idea how he got to the location and has no memory of running over a pedestrian.

Garski struggled with addiction and was homeless for 16 years but had found supportive housing two years ago.

"Nate was very proud of the fact he was able to end his homelessness," said Damir Djidic, a Milwaukee County housing official who works with the homeless population.

He was one of two pedestrians killed by vehicles operated by suspected intoxicated drivers on Feb. 11. Marquette University Business School Dean Joe Daniels was struck and killed while crossing the intersection of North 10th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue around 8 p.m.

A 20-year-old woman, who had a green light, drove through the intersection and struck him. Charges have not yet been filed in that case.

Jordyn Noennig covers pop culture and entertainment in Milwaukee. Follow her on Instagram @JordynTaylor_n. Find her on Twitter @JordynTNoennig. Call her at 262-446-6601 or email Jordyn.Noennig@jrn.com.