By Susan Bromley

Staff Writer

Brandon Twp.-A man who claimed a stranger he met while fishing was the one who drove his truck into a lake, was ultimately found to be responsible, and also to have a blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit.

Brandon deputies responded around 10 p.m., Aug. 18 to the 1900 block of Connell Road for a vehicle that drove off the road and into Davison Lake.

A witness who lives at the address said she heard a crash and immediately went outside and observed a Chevy Avalanche in the lake and called 9-1-1. She said the driver was trying to back up the truck to move it, but was stuck in the lake. She observed a man in a white T-shirt and shorts exit out of the driver’s door and climb onto shore. She said she did not see anyone else in the area or fleeing from the crash site.

Deputies spoke with the man in the white T-shirt and shorts who smelled of intoxicants. The man said he was not the driver, that he met a guy earlier while fishing and the guy offered to drive him home. He had no other information on the person he said was driving. The deputy asked the man to take a preliminary breathalyzer test and he continued to insist he was not the driver. After further discussion, he agreed to take the test, which showed he had a blood alcohol content of .239 percent.

He agreed to be taken to the hospital for a blood sample and in the patrol car, became agitated, continually saying he was not driving and complaining about a prior contact with the other deputy on a separate incident. A blood sample was taken at the hospital after the deputy obtained a search warrant and the man was lodged at the Oakland County Jail for operating while intoxicated.