By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK — A Detroit man whose breath test was three times higher than the limit for legally drunk in Michigan was taken into custody at 1:30 a.m. Feb. 26 after a caller reported a reckless driver in a black 1999 GMC Suburban on southbound Southfield Road near Roosevelt Avenue.
A police officer searched the initial area, but didn’t find the driver until they checked near Pelham near Ecorse roads, where they saw the driver go through an inoperable traffic light without treating the intersection like a four-way stop, nearly striking another vehicle.
The police officer followed the driver north on Pelham Road, where he was seen swerving back and forth over the lane divider multiple times. A traffic stop was then initiated on westbound Pinecrest Drive.
When the police officer made contact with the driver, the man, who smelled of intoxicants, was lethargic and unable to speak clearly. He admitted to drinking earlier at his cousin’s house in Detroit, and he thought he was still in Detroit and headed to his own residence in the city.
The man failed numerous standardized field sobriety tests. After initially refusing to take a preliminary breath test, the driver agreed, and the test was administered. The man had a blood-alcohol content of 0.215, more than two-and-a-half times the 0.08 limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
A later breath test at the police station indicated a blood-alcohol content of 0.24, three-times the legal limit.
The Suburban was impounded and towed, while the man was charged with operating under the influence of liquor and was held.