Over the weekend, two different motorists with repeated prior drunk driving offenses lead police on chases in parts of Independence and neighboring townships.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported to anyone but the drivers, as one suspected drunk driver allegedly tried to ram a police car and the other rolled his car in a residential neighborhood near a graduation party.
‘As it turns out, they were both people we’d want off the road based on their prior alcohol offenses. They were both repeat offenders,? said Lt. Dale LaBair of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department Independence substation.
The first chase started after OCSD deputies from the Independence Township substation clocked the car driving at 88 m.p.h. on I-75. The deputy attempted to pull over the vehicle, driven by a 49-year-old Davisburg man, as it exited I-75 onto southbound M-15 at around 8:40 p.m. on June 3.
According to reports, the driver of the vehicle sped up despite the lights, siren and air horn on the patrol car. The car then traveled onto Miller Road, running stop signs on Glenburnie Lane and Holcomb Road before continuing onto Valley Park. The driver lost control of the vehicle after turning onto Deer Hill striking mailboxes, rocks and destroying lawns.
The chase concluded after the car rolled over once coming to a rest upside down. Police ordered the man from the car at gunpoint.
‘It was scary because he drove by a graduation party,? said LaBair, who estimated the chase lasted approximately 1? minutes. ‘The chase segment of that would probably have been called off (for safety reasons) had he not rolled.?
Police arrested the man for fleeing and eluding, operating his motor vehicle while intoxicated, third offense, having an open intoxicant in a motor vehicle and driving with a revoked license.
Independence Township Fire Department transported the man to Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc for injuries to his hands and face. No breath test was conducted on site due to the man’s injuries.
As stated in reports, the man told officers he fled because he did not have a driver’s license and had outstanding warrants. A check of the man’s record revealed four outstanding warrants and two prior operating while intoxicated arrests in 2000 and 2002.
The second chase began after police tried to pull over a car traveling south on Dixie Highway for an improper license plate around 10:26 p.m. on June 4. As the OCSD deputy initiated a traffic stop, the driver, a 40-year-old East Tawas man, pulled onto Stonewood Drive north of White Lake Road. After slowing, the car turned and sped back towards Dixie Highway before merging onto I-75 north.
According to reports, as the officer pursued the vehicle, the driver locked up his brakes and went into reverse traveling into oncoming traffic forcing the officer to swerve and pass him. After the vehicle started traveling northbound again, the officer swerved another time to avoid a collision as the car drove up behind the patrol car.
At this point, the chase was terminated by police officials.
‘We don’t let them run for too long. We try to evaluate the value of the arrest versus the danger to the public. It didn’t appear he was going to stop without serious intervention that would endanger the public,? said LaBair.
Contact was established with the Michigan State Police during the pursuit, however, and they were able to deploy ‘stop sticks? near East Holly Road, which caused the suspect’s tires to go flat.
MSP arrested the 40-year-old East Tawas man near exit 106 on I-75 in Genessee County. During the arrest, the man allegedly resisted and was subdued with pepper spray. According to police reports, the driver reached speeds estimated at 105 m.p.h. during the chase.
The East Tawas man was transported to North Oakland Medical Center for a blood test. According to reports, the man had two warrants from district court in Madison Heights.
Arrest warrants were requested for third degree fleeing and eluding, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, third offense, resisting and obstructing arrest and two counts of felonious assault with a motor vehicle, state reports.