By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE — A 47-year-old Dearborn man sideswiped a vehicle in Allen Park and left the scene of the incident before rear-ending a car in Melvindale the night of Nov. 8 while driving under the influence of alcohol.
When a Melvindale police officer reached Outer Drive and Dix Road, he found a 20-year-old Southgate woman in the car that had been rear-ended, and an unoccupied vehicle with front-end damage and a deployed airbag with blood spatter on it nearby.
It was soon determined that the abandoned vehicle had sideswiped another vehicle earlier in Allen Park.
The police officer searched the abandoned car, and found an identification card, which was a match for a man with a suspended driver’s license.
The police officer then noticed a man on foot stumbling nearby. He admitted to driving the car with front-end damage, and claimed the car in front of him had slammed on the brakes.
The man smelled of alcohol and his eyes were glassy. He admitted to drinking earlier at a party.
He failed standardized field sobriety tests and had difficulty standing. A preliminary breath test was administered, and the man had a blood-alcohol content of 0.125, higher than the 0.08 limit for legally drunk in Michigan.
He was taken into custody and charged with operating while intoxicated, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, and with failure to use due care and caution.