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Crime & Safety

Brookfield Man Charged in Roundabout Hit and Run

A man who runs a local accounting firm was charged Tuesday with a felony for allegedly hitting a pedestrian in the Barker / North roundabout and fleeing the scene. The woman was listening to her iPhone.

A Brookfield business owner was charged Tuesday for allegedly hitting a woman with his Mercedes Benz while she was walking across a roundabout Sunday evening.

Thomas J. Rhoda, 64, was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court with one felony count of hit and run causing great bodily harm. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison and $50,000 in fines.

The woman's condition was improving, said police who said the investigation was continuing. Brookfield Police Capt. Phil Horter asked citizens to come foward with any information about Rhoda's whereabouts from 12 to 8 p.m. Sunday by contacting police at (262) 787-3702.

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According to the criminal complaint:

Brookfield police officers were called to the roundabout at North Avenue and Barker Road at 7:39 p.m. Sunday after witnesses said a female pedestrian was struck by a Mercedes that kept driving east without stopping. The woman was found lying on the east side of the roundabout with injuries to her head, hips and face.

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The woman told officers the last thing she remembered before being struck was that she was walking north toward her home while listening to an audio book on her iPhone.

Paramedics took her to an area hospital where she was treated for a fractured skull, broken pelvis and laceration to the head requiring staples to close.

Damaged pieces from the car were recovered from the scene. About 5½ hours later — at 1:15 a.m. Monday — prominent Milwaukee defense attorney Gerald Boyle contacted Brookfield police to say Rhoda was the driver of the car and would turn himself in the morning with the car, a 2008 silver Mercedes 4-door with Arizona registration plates.

Rhoda did appear at the police station Monday morning with the car, but said he didn’t want to answer questions without his lawyer present. Boyle could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

Rhoda is listed as the owner of Thomas J. Rhoda & Associates, an accounting firm based in Brookfield.

Rhoda was free on $1,000 bond while awaiting trial.

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