The driver of the van causing a crash on I-75 in Springfield Township on Dec. 13 was arrested after police determined he provided false identification.
After the accident, the driver, who identified himself to police as Kevin Chase, a 21-year-old from Warren, Michigan, was transported to the Genesys Regional Medical Center in Grand Blanc for injuries. Genesys staff members became suspicious after they heard relatives of the driver call him different names than that given to the troopers.
Workers at the medical center then called police. A trooper questioned the man and determined the driver was actually Joseph Edward Williams, 22, of Warren. He was arrested at the hospital and lodged in Oakland County Jail for misdemeanor warrants from the Michigan State Police Metro North Post and Grosse Pointe Farms Police Department and a felony warrant from Shelby Township.
Williams was turned over to Shelby Township police and lodged in Macomb County Jail. He is to be arraigned in the 41-A-District Court in Macomb County on a charge of larceny by conversion over $1,000 but less than $20,000.
Additional charges are being sought through the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office by the Michigan State Police Post for operating under the influence of a controlled substance, resisting and obstructing for providing the false name, and driving with a suspended license.
The accident, involving a van and semi trailer occurred around 1:40 p.m reducing southbound I-75 near Davisburg Road to one lane.
The accident occurred when the van, driven by Williams collided with the trailer. In an attempt to avoid the van, the semi driver swerved causing the trailer to roll over several times.
Both drivers exited their vehicles under their own power. The driver of the semi, a 47-year-old man from Mt. Morris, had no apparent injuries and refused medical treatment. Williams was transported for lacerations to his hands and face.
The trailer was loaded with over 41,000 thousand pounds of automobile brake parts, which spilled during the crash.
The crash is under investigation by the Michigan State Police at the Groveland Post.