Officers Get Hit by Intoxicated Driver While Arresting Another Drunk Driver
While sheriff’s deputies often arrest more than one drunk driver in a shift, they almost never get to arrest both of them in the same spot and roughly the same time. But in this rather unusual situation, which must have been pretty frightening for everyone involved, the deputies were hit by a second drunk driver moments after arresting the first. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
The incident took place at about half an hour after midnight on a recent Saturday in Macomb Township. Central Dispatch sent out an alert that there was a possible drunk driver on Romeo Plank road heading south. Two deputies from the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department head out, searching for the driver, who was said to be driving a Ford Mustang.
A short while later, the driver was spotted and pulled over. The 20-year-old from Sterling Heights appeared to be intoxicated, and the deputies arrested him. He was placed in the rear of one of the Deputy’s patrol cars, and they were all about to drive away when out of nowhere a second apparent drunk driver barreled by.
The second drunk driver, also a 20-year-old but this time from Macomb County, sideswiped both the deputies’ vehicles and the mustang parked on the side of the road. Both the mustang and one of the deputy’s SUVs ended up in the ditch on the side of the road. While no one was hurt, one of the Department vehicles has been taken out of service as a result of the damages.
The second driver was also arrested, and then both young men were transported to the Macomb County jail. Their blood alcohol content levels were subsequently tested, and both came in at .17. Under Michigan law, .08 is the legal limit for drivers, and .17 puts you into ‘super drunk’ category.
Both men, whose names have not been released, have been charged with first offense operating while intoxicated with a high BAC, also known as driving super drunk. In Michigan, super drunk driving can result in penalties twice as high as those of the usual DUI conviction, including doubled fines, jail times and community service periods.
