Eight-year-old Jackson Sparks of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, was killed after being struck by an SUV that drove into the Waukesha Christmas Parade on November 21, 2021. Jackson walked in the parade with the Waukesha Blazers youth baseball organization alongside his older brother, Tucker. He was carried from the roadway and taken for emergency care, including a craniotomy at Children’s Wisconsin, but died on November 23, 2021, from craniocerebral injuries caused by blunt-force trauma consistent with impact from an SUV weighing about 3,300 pounds.

Investigators tied the red Ford Escape to driver Darrell Edward Brooks Jr., who drove through crowds along Main Street at speeds reconstructed at about 32 miles per hour in one segment, struck multiple people and then abandoned the vehicle. Brooks was charged with multiple counts tied to the attack, including first-degree intentional homicide for Jackson’s death. The case went to trial, the jury convicted Brooks on all counts, and the court later imposed consecutive life sentences and additional terms.

Jackson’s love of baseball was central to community remembrances: hundreds attended his funeral at Brooklife Church, players wore uniforms, and the Jerseys for Jackson movement encouraged people to honor him. Did anyone in the Mukwonago or Waukesha area have memories of Jackson from youth baseball or the parade that could help fill out his story?