Midland Mother Facing Criminal Charges

Shannon R. Lang, a 29-year-old resident of Midland, MI, and the mother of a 6-month-old, is facing criminal charges as a result of a drunk driving crash that occurred in early May of this year.

Lang was arraigned in the Bay County District Court on Tuesday, July 22nd, on single counts of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, operating with a blood alcohol level of 0.17 or higher, and operating while intoxicated with a passenger age 16 or younger.

The accident occurred in the evening of Saturday, May 3rd, on US-10 near 11 Mile Road. According to police records, witnesses report seeing a Dodge Caravan driving erratically on the highway. Shortly after, the driver lost control and the minivan veered off the road, rolled over, and then caught fire.

Although emergency responders arrived, concerned citizens were on hand sooner and assisted in getting the mother and her baby out of the burning car. The infant was unharmed, but Lang was transported to MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland where she was listed as being in critical condition and was treated for multiple broken bones and internal injuries.

According to Bay County Prosecutor Kurt C. Asbury, Lang had been on her way home from a wedding in Bay City where she had consumed too much alcohol. At the time of her admission into the hospital following the crash, her blood alcohol level was high enough to be covered by Michigan’s “super drunk” law.

“She was in pretty bad shape.” said Bay County Sheriff’s Lt. James Chlebowski, but, as he pointed out, “It could have been a lot worse.”

All three charges are misdemeanors, the most serious being the charge of operating while intoxicated with a passenger aged 16 or younger, which is punishable by up to one year in jail and a possible fine of $1,000.

Lang is currently free on a $5,000 cash-surety bond. She is scheduled for a pretrial conference at 9 am on August 22nd in the Bay County District Court before Judge Dawn A. Klida.