Downtown Milwaukee hotel valet worker takes guest's car and causes fatal crash, complaint says

A 23-year-old valet worker at a downtown hotel is accused of taking a car, driving recklessly with it, and crashing into a 29-year-old man, killing him.

Marco A. Gomez of Milwaukee was charged Friday by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office with first-degree reckless homicide, knowingly operating a vehicle without consent and a valid license, and homicide by intoxicated use of vehicle.

Gomez crashed into Michael D. Starks of Brown Deer, who died at the scene. Starks' family declined to comment on Tuesday.

According to a criminal complaint:

Gomez admitted to taking a hotel guest's rental car on June 3 while under the influence of alcohol. A short time later, Gomez would run a red light at a high rate of speed and crash into Starks at 11:42 p.m. at the intersection of North 11th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue.

Milwaukee police recovered surveillance video of the crash, which shows a white Toyota Camry driving westbound on Wisconsin Avenue at a high rate of speed. As the Camry approached North 10th Street, the car could be seen traveling in the bus lane and passing cars.

The Camry disregarded a red traffic light at 10th Street and continued westbound through the intersection, over the Interstate 43 overpass. As the Camry approached 11th Street, it disregarded a second red light and crashed into the vehicle driven by Starks, who was ejected from the driver's seat when his vehicle struck a concrete median.

Police responded to SpringHill Suites, 744 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave., and spoke to Gomez's coworker, who said that when he arrived to work at about 10:30 p.m., one of the vehicles that was in custody of the valet was missing.

Police spoke to a hotel guest who said she parked her rented Toyota Camry with valet and did not give anyone consent to take it and drive it away from the hotel.

Gomez admitted to being employed by the valet service and to taking the Camry and driving away from the hotel, the complaint states. He said he had been drinking prior to the crash and was intoxicated at the time. Results from Gomez's blood test are currently outstanding.

A coworker said Gomez was working a shift at the time of the incident. Prosecutors said that he "does not now, nor has he ever held a valid Wisconsin driver's license."

However, the valet service, Towne Park, said Gomez had a valid license when his background check was conducted and that he was not working for the valet during the incident.

In a statement, Towne Park said, "This was a horrific and tragic accident, and our thoughts and deep sympathies go out to the victim’s family. The safety of our people and all those we interact with is our highest priority and responsibility.  

"We have a rigorous hiring process and our standard practice for every employee hired by the company in a driving role is to undergo a thorough background check, drug screen, and motor vehicle record check. This was the process followed in hiring this individual and he met all criteria and had a valid driver’s license. This individual was not working on behalf of Towne Park at the time of the incident and has since been terminated.  

"We are cooperating with the police and at this point we can’t comment further as this is an active police investigation."

The district attorney's office didn't immediately respond to request for comment following Towne Park's statement. Gomez's attorney also did not respond. Gomez is in custody of the Milwaukee County Jail on $100,000 bail.