Charges are pending against a 37-year-old Orleans man suspected of drunken driving, who allegedly caused a three-vehicle accident on W. Drahner Rd. near Powell Rd. at about 7:28 p.m. Feb. 12.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s report, the Orleans man was eastbound on W. Drahner in his 1992 GMC truck when he failed to stop and rear-ended a 1998 Dodge, driven by a 27-year-old Oxford woman.
The 1998 Dodge was stopped, preparing to turn left off eastbound W. Drahner into a private driveway at 460 W. Drahner Rd.
The collision pushed the 1998 Dodge into the westbound lanes, where it was struck in the front-end by a 1996 Ford, driven by a 31-year-old Oxford man.
The Orleans man was transported by ambulance to POH in Pontiac, while the Oxford woman was transported to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac.
A 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy who were passengers in the Oxford woman’s vehicle were reported to be uninjured.
A charge of Operating While Intoxicated is currently pending against the Orleans man, according to Oakland County Sheriff’s Lt. Al Whitefield, commander of the Oxford Township substation.
Whitefield said investigators are currently waiting for the results of a blood test based on a sample taken from the Orleans man that night. The sample was sent to the Michigan State Police for analysis.
Once the test results are back, sheriff’s investigators will request the prosecutor’s office issue an arrest warrant for Operating While Intoxicated against the Orleans man, Whitefield said.
Deputies at the scene reported they “noticed a heavy odor of intoxicants,” “slurred speech,” “very deliberate movements,” and “watery eyes” while talking to the Orleans man the night of the accident.
The Orleans man told deputies “he drank from a pint of McMasters whiskey earlier that evening, in fact the empty bottle was still in the vehicle,” according to the report.
The Orleans man also informed deputies “he had taken a Valium that was not prescribed to him, but to a friend of his,” the report stated.
Deputies performed a Preliminary Breath Test on the Orleans man, the result of which was a Blood Alcohol Content of .237, according to the report.
“That means 23 percent of his blood was alcohol,” Whitefield said.
While at POH, the Orleans man voluntarily agreed to a blood draw requested by deputies and administered by hospital staff, the report stated.