Brandon Twp.- Dale and Julie Boadway are giving notice? their home in the 2800 block of Granger Road is not, repeat, not, the party house.
The Boadways seem to have a special curse. In the three years since they bought their home near Perry Lake Road, they have had four separate incidents with drunk strangers. The latest, on Nov. 7, had a special twist? a 28-year-old township man drove his Saturn sedan into their pond.
‘I said to the 9-1-1 operator, ‘Why does this keep happening??? recalled Julie Boadway. ‘I didn’t visualize someone could do something that stupid.?
The Boadways were awakened at about 3:50 a.m. on Nov. 7 by the barking of their dog. Dale Boadway went to check things out, and soon returned to tell Julie, ‘Call 9-1-1, there’s a guy on our porch that said he drove his car into our pond.?
The Boadways went outside and found the man had left their porch. They didn’t immediately see the vehicle in the pond and thought perhaps the man had driven into the neighbor’s pond or swamp.
‘We didn’t see the car, and thought, it couldn’t be completely under water,? Julie said. ‘But then we saw him standing next to our tree looking into our pond… We saw taillights under the water shining up and we started yelling at him, saying, ‘Is anyone else in the car?? He said, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know.? We called 9-1-1 back and told them the car was submerged and he had no idea if anyone was in the vehicle.?
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene, as well as Brandon firefighters. The OCSO dive team was also called in to search the pond, which is about 50 feet across and reaches a depth of 17 feet at its deepest point. The car was in about 12 feet of water.
The dive team searched the vehicle and pond and found no one.
‘We were relieved, grateful, thankful,? said Julie, who praised the police and firefighters, noting their work was excellent. ‘We’d been praying. It was the most terrified I’ve ever been, not knowing whether someone was in that car.?
OCSO Sgt. Pete Burkett said he believed the man had told the Boadways and responding officers that he didn’t know if there was anyone else in the vehicle as a way to divert attention from his own drunk driving and possibly imply someone else had been driving the vehicle.
‘He didn’t realize how serious we would take it,? said Burkett. ‘It was bad enough he drove the car into the pond, but then we had to make sure no one was at the bottom of the pond. We will be pursuing cost recovery, which will be in the thousands.?
A preliminary breathalyzer test showed the man had a blood alcohol content of .183 percent. Julie Boadway said when police handcuffed him, he asked if he was being arrested, and then said he didn’t care where they took him, as long as it was somewhere warm.
She noted he was soaking wet, covered in pond muck, and clueless about how he got to their house. From the tire marks, she said he had apparently pulled up their drive, then backed the car around like he realized he was not at the right place, then put the car in drive and went down the hill and into the pond.
If not for the Boadways? dog, a 125-pound bull mastiff named Tiny, the man would have been even colder. Julie said they got Tiny a couple years ago, after a drunk driver pulled into their driveway followed by police and pretended he belonged at the residence. That incident was followed by one in which a drunk pounded on their sliding door and told Dale Boadway he owed him a ride, and yet another in which an intoxicated stranger went through their garage and cars and stole a neighbor’s bike.
‘I’ve heard that the people who owned this house before had kids and it was known as the party house,? Julie said. ‘Whether they think we’re the party house still, I don’t know, but I want them to know we’re not.?