The white van hit the gold Buick so hard that witnesses said it sounded like an explosion. It was June 2023, at the intersection of 76th Street and Florist Avenue in Milwaukee. Inside the Buick, 28-year-old father Taylor Poirier was killed instantly.

His two children in the back seat were critically hurt. Their mother, Hannah Marsden, was pregnant with twins at the time. The driver who hit them, 23-year-old Navarus Campbell, never had a license.

By the time of that crash, Campbell had racked up 27 tickets for driving on a suspended or revoked license that never existed

Police had pulled him over again and again, issuing tickets instead of arresting him.

It was all due to a “glitch” buried in Wisconsin’s traffic database. The system treated unlicensed drivers as if they were “suspended” rather than “unlicensed.”

This triggered only minor tickets rather than the criminal charges state law intended for repeat offenders.

Campbell’s record filled eighteen pages

He eventually pleaded guilty to homicide by use of a vehicle. He also affirmed a controlled substance charge, two counts of injury by use of a vehicle and a controlled substance, and one count of fleeing police.

In November 2024, a judge sentenced him to 20 years and 13 years of extended supervision.

In a new interview, Campbell told a local news outlet he wished police had arrested him sooner

He explained that he was late for work the morning of the crash and admitted to speeding through the intersection.

Campbell said he didn’t realize he was driving in a “legal loophole.” He acknowledged that the stream of tickets never convinced him to stop.

He kept driving, he said, to reach landscaping jobs and support his seven children.

After the accident and a two-year investigation by 12 News, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation revised its classification system

Now, unlicensed repeat offenders are flagged “correctly” and can face criminal charges. 

Milwaukee police say they’ve since made nearly 20 times more arrests for unlicensed driving.

Marsden, now raising her twins alone, said she’s grateful the law has changed but told reporters no sentence can balance the loss.

Poirier’s name, birth date, and final heartbeat (captured from an EKG) hang framed in her home.

Campbell, two years into his sentence at Racine Correctional Center, told the station he thinks about that day every day. He said he can’t forgive himself for taking a father away from his children.

The state has since counted at least 17 deaths linked to unlicensed repeat offenders like him. The hope now is that with the ticket loophole finally closed, there won’t be an 18th.