Rashad Lamar Nelson: Monona Police Chase, Crash, and No Charges

Rashad Lamar Nelson, a 30-year-old Madison resident, died on January 1, 2024, when the SUV he was riding in crashed into a tree at high speed after a seven-mile Monona police chase. The crash killed all three occupants, and in May 2024 the Dane County District Attorney declined to file criminal charges against the officer who initiated the pursuit, finding that police had never made physical contact with the fleeing vehicle.¹

The Pursuit and Crash

Around 9:00 p.m. on New Year’s Day 2024, a Monona Police Department officer saw an SUV make an abrupt lane change at Monona Drive and Nichols Road. The officer followed into a nearby parking lot to run a data check. The SUV turned around, accelerated back onto the road, and fled when the officer activated lights and sirens.¹

The chase covered roughly seven miles. The SUV passed 80 miles per hour, ran a red light at Pflaum Road and Stoughton Road, and at one point drove eastbound in the westbound lanes of Femrite Drive. A Dane County Sheriff’s deputy tried to deploy a spike strip near Femrite Drive and County Highway AB, but the device did not make contact with the vehicle.²

Shortly past that intersection, the SUV hit a tree. Dashboard camera footage showed the brake lights activating just before impact, and the collision produced what investigators described as a fireball. Nelson, 19-year-old Aajayah Monai Ray of Sun Prairie, and 30-year-old Aaron Javon Willis of Madison were all pronounced dead at the scene. None of the three appeared to have been wearing seat belts.²

What Investigators Found in the Vehicle

Investigators recovered two firearms from the wreckage, one of them reported stolen, along with marijuana. Toxicology results showed the driver tested positive for Delta-9/THC, methamphetamine, and promethazine.²

The officer who began the pursuit was identified as Sergeant Adam Nachreiner of the Monona Police Department, who had nearly 21 years in law enforcement. The deputy who attempted the spike strip was Sergeant Jonathon Matz of the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, with 11 years of experience. Both were placed on paid administrative duty while the state reviewed the incident.³

Why No Charges Were Filed

On May 10, 2024, Dane County District Attorney Ismael R. Ozanne announced that the Monona officer would not face criminal charges. His reasoning rested on a single factual point: police never touched the SUV, and the spike strip deployment failed, so law enforcement did nothing that physically altered the vehicle’s path or condition. “Law enforcement’s attempt to catch up to said vehicle did not cause the crash as law enforcement never came into actual contact with the vehicle in question,” Ozanne wrote.¹

Ozanne’s report added that questions about training, protocols, and tactics remained the responsibility of police executives and supervisors rather than the prosecutor’s office.¹

The Pursuit Policy Fight That Followed

The crash reopened a local argument about when Monona officers should chase. On January 3, 2024, two days after the deaths, Police Chief Brian Chaney and Mayor Mary O’Connor temporarily tightened the department’s pursuit policy, limiting chases to suspects believed to be involved in dangerous and violent felony offenses.⁴

The restriction did not last. On January 16, 2024, after a meeting that ran more than two hours, the City Council voted 4-3 to reinstate the standard pursuit policy adopted in November 2022. That policy allows officers to pursue any driver who fails to stop after a lawful signal, weighed against the seriousness of the suspected crime, the risk to the public, traffic and road conditions, and the ability to apprehend the suspect later.⁵

Alder Richard Bernstein, who voted to delay reinstatement until the state investigation finished, said at the meeting: “I also believe that nobody should die for reckless driving… not to analyze what happened on Jan. 1 would be a dereliction of duty.” Chaney said he had reviewed dashboard and body camera footage from every pursuit with a certified instructor and found the officers’ actions reasonable under the existing policy.⁴

The department’s policy manual also states that no officer or supervisor should be criticized or disciplined for declining to pursue because of risk, and permits tire deflation devices only when it is reasonably apparent that the pursued vehicle alone will be affected.⁶

The Victims and Their Families

Friends and family built a memorial at the crash site near Buckeye Road and Femrite Drive in Cottage Grove, and organized a balloon release in honor of Aajayah Ray, the youngest of the three.⁷ Shortly after the crash, Chaney said, “I’m sensitive to the fact that there are three families in mourning.”⁸

The advocacy group Families Demanding Justice later featured Nelson’s case, noting on his memorial page that he had a baby on the way at the time of his death, as did Aaron Willis. The group has used the case in its broader campaign against pursuit policies it considers dangerous.⁹

1
Dane County District Attorney. No Criminal Liability for Monona Police Officer Involved in Pursuit of Vehicle Which Crashed on 1-1-2024
2
WKOW. District Attorney: Monona Police Officer Won’t Be Charged After Pursuit Ended in Deadly Crash
3
Wisconsin Department of Justice. City of Monona Officer Involved Critical Incident Update
4
HNG News. Monona City Council Votes Against Extending Police Chase Policy Pause
5
WMTV 15 News. Monona Police Department Returns to Current Vehicle Pursuit Policy After Its Temporary Change
6
FOX 47. A Closer Look at What the Monona Police Department’s Manual Says About Vehicle Chases
7
WMTV 15 News. Monona Police Chase Ends in Triple Fatal Crash
8
WMTV 15 News. Victims Named in Deadly Crash Following City of Monona Police Chase
9
Families Demanding Justice. Rashad Nelson