Complaint details how police identified suspect in fatal Madison hit-and-run

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A criminal complaint filed Friday details how police were able to identify the woman accused of killing a pedestrian and his poodle in a deadly hit-and-run on Madison’s west side.

Tiambra Walker, 21, is accused of hit and run- resulting in death, homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and felony bail jumping. An arrest warrant was issued for Walker on Friday, according to court records. As of Monday, she has not been arrested, nor has an initial appearance court date been set. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections said that it issued an apprehension request after she did not report to her agent.

A 15-page criminal complaint details interviews with several witnesses from the night of Feb. 15 when Walker allegedly hit the man and his dog, as well as over the course of the investigation. The victim was later identified as 66-year-old Stephen Fleck.

According to the complaint, a Madison Police Department officer was driving down Schroeder Road, near Struck Street, just after 9:35 p.m. The officer got out of his vehicle and a witness pointed to a man’s body on the north side of the street. The officer checked for a pulse and feeling none, started chest compressions on the victim until paramedics arrived on scene. The man was later pronounced dead around 10:30 p.m.

A pizza delivery driver told the officer that he was driving south on Struck Street around 9:30 p.m. and turned left to go east on Schroeder Road. After making a delivery on Laurie Lane, he came back on Schroeder Road and saw what he thought was a jacket in the middle of the road, which he didn’t think was there prior to the delivery.

The complaint states that officials walking down Schroeder Road near Chapel Hill Road reported finding a deceased poodle laying in the middle of the street. They also found plastic car pieces, a cell phone, sunglasses and a pair of prescription glasses in the street. Investigators recalled finding a trail of fluid from the location of the deceased dog to westbound Schroeder Road and into the parking lot of Badger Gymnastics Academy.

An email tip led police to the description of the suspect vehicle, a blue Chevrolet Malibu with its headlights off and a smashed out windshield. Police were able to confirm that car parts found at the scene of the fatal wreck did belong to a Chevrolet Malibu model between the years of 2008-2012.

The complaint went into accounts from two witnesses who told police that they thought Walker was the passenger of the vehicle at the time when the victim was struck. One person told police that the driver was a woman, who the complaint referred to as Witness 4. A second person told police that she thought Witness 4 was the driver of the suspect vehicle because Witness 4 had posted a video on her social media “story” that day, according to the complaint.

Police spoke to an individual for a local tow company in Madison at his shop, who told police he had not towed any similar Chevrolet models but he had a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu earlier in the month. He offered the vehicle to Witness 4 so she could test drive it as a possible purchase, but said it was never returned to him. The complaint notes that it was supposed to be returned on Feb. 8. He reported received a text on Feb. 18 indicating the vehicle was at Witness 4′s home in Sun Prairie with the key under the seat, but the man was unable to find it and Witness 4 ignored his texts.

The complaint continues, detailing that the two officers drove to Oak Lawn, Illinois, to meet with Witness 4 and asked her if she let anyone else drive the Chevrolet Malibu. She told police that she let everyone drive it, including Walker.

Police started to ask about details of the crash. According to the complaint, Witness 4 said that she was asleep during the crash. She recalled Walker being on the phone while driving down Schroeder Road when she was awakened by Walker. The witness said she remembered there was glass everywhere, and Walker’s baby, who was in the car, had glass all over him in the back of the vehicle. When the passenger asked Walker what had happened or if she had fallen asleep, Walker reportedly said “I think I hit somebody” twice. The passenger asked if Walker fell asleep and she said “I don’t know.” She also admitted that Walker did not check on what she hit and that they had been doing Percocets before the crash, the complaint states.

After the crash, the complaint cites Witness 4 saying they took the car to Walker’s uncle’s home. Police went to the 1100 block of Gammon Ln. based on description of Walker’s uncle’s apartment provided by Witness 4 and saw a blue Chevrolet sedan with a smashed windshield through a window in a garage. They spoke to Walker’s uncle, who told them she drove the car into his garage the night of the crash and he gave officers permission to go inside the garage. Walker’s uncle later told police that he believed she was “probably high” the day of the wreck based on the appearance of her eyes.

Police had the car towed to an impound lot and later compared car pieces found on the scene of the wreck to the Chevrolet sedan, with several appearing to be perfect fits.

The complaint notes that Witness 4 told police that after the crash, she and Walker took a bus to Chicago. Walker’s grandmother lives in the Chicago area, according to the complaint.

When police spoke to Walker’s grandmother, she told police that she heard Witness 4 telling Walker she, “had an accident in Madison and the defendant shouldn’t say anything,” which led Walker’s grandmother to believe Witness 4 is the one that had the accident. She also told police that she knew Walker in general took Percocets and that she smokes marijuana.

One of the final witnesses cited in the article told Witness 4 through Facebook messages that Walker told him to lie and blame the crash on Witness 4. The complaint notes that he said to police that Walker had already told him that she was in the backseat at the time of the crash and that Walker was driving.

Earlier this month, Walker pleaded guilty to two out of four hit-and-run charges she faced from a previous incident dating back to October 2021. She was sentenced to three years probation and was out on bail with the condition that she could not drive at the time of the fatal Schroeder Road crash.

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