Girl killed after her car was hit by drunk driver on I-75

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WJBK) - A little girl killed on I-75 after a pick-up slammed into the car she was riding in.

The impact sent the child flying out of the vehicle.

"It's such an easy fix," said Lt. Mike Shaw, Michigan State Police. "Take the drunk from behind the wheel and no more drunk driving crashes."

A 10-year-old girl was killed and two drivers are in the hospital because Michigan State Police say someone decided to get behind the wheel, drunk.

"We're not exactly sure how much alcohol was in his system and that's something we need to see," Shaw said.

The crash happened along I-75 near 696 in Royal Oak Saturday night. A 10-year-old girl who sources identify as Lalonni Yahrbough of Eastpointe, had been riding in the back seat of a Pontiac G6 with four others including her aunt, who was driving.

That was when police say a man driving a Dodge Dakota slammed into them.

"He rear ends her," Shaw said. "We don't know if she was putting on the brakes or was just driving or if he wasn't paying attention to what was going on."

As the pick-up turned over on its side onto the right shoulder, the car was pushed up the embankment and hit  the bridge. Lalonni, who was not wearing her seat belt, was thrown from the car and onto the freeway.

"If you don't have your seatbelt on, what happens is you keep going the speed your vehicle was going at the time."

Right now state police say they don't know if Lalonni had been wearing her seatbelt and removed it, or if she was never buckled up.

"We know seatbelts save lives," Shaw said. "Do we know that she would've survived the impact of this crash, we don't."

Lalonni's 23-year-old aunt from Harper Woods is in the hospital along with the driver of that truck. Police say they are investigating both that apparent drunk driver and why little Lalonni did not have her seatbelt on.

While thinking of her family police using this incident as a reminder.

"Always wear that seatbelt no matter how old you are, no matter where you are in the car," Shaw said. "That seatbelt is going to save your life."