An Orion Township man who lost control of his car and smashed into a party store Oct. 13 told police he’d been drinking all evening.
The 24-year-old man was initially charged with operating while intoxicated, second offense; open intoxicants in vehicle; and driving while license suspended.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether he’d been arraigned as of Monday.
According to reports, a witness told deputies he was standing in the vestibule of Pugh’s Party Store at 511 Heights Road talking to the owner when he turned to leave and saw a vehicle approaching rapidly.
The witness said he turned and ran back into the store as the car crashed into the building.
The driver and passenger, the witness noted, had already emerged from the car quickly.
The driver, who has a history of drinking-and-driving-related offenses, told police he began drinking beer at his home around 7 p.m. , then went to a pub on Lapeer Road in Orion Township and consumed ‘two or three? mixed drinks containing seven different shots of alcohol each.
After leaving the pub, the driver said he and his passenger, a male friend, stopped at a Lake Orion gas station and purchased a 30-pack of beer, which he opened and began consuming while driving.
Police reports note the driver admitted he ‘accelerated to a very high rate of speed? while westbound on Heights Road, and crossed the center line before crashing into the store, causing ‘major damage? to both the store and his vehicle.
A PBT on the scene of the accident indicated the driver had alcohol levels of .19 percent’more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent.
Both men were loaded into an ambulance after talking with deputies, and taken for medical treatment. The driver was cleared and transported to Oakland County Jail.