Suspected drunken driver with child in backseat hits deputy patrol car

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJBK) - A Macomb County Sheriff's deputy was injured Tuesday evening when his patrol car was struck by a drunken driver, Sheriff Anthony Wickersham says.

The deputy was at the scene of a different vehicle crash on M-53 near 29 Mile Road in Washington Township.

Wickersham says the Sheriff car was on the shoulder of the freeway when a 2005 Chevrolet Avalanche that was being driven by a 37-year-old Warren woman hit the side of the patrol car. The deputy was taken by ambulance to the hospital and was treated for minor injuries. The injuries were not specified.

Upon speaking to the driver of the Avalanche, other deputies sensed that she was intoxicated.  After some further investigation, she was placed under arrest for Operating While Intoxicated. 

A 12-year-old child was also in the Avalanche at the time of the crash. Neither the child nor the woman were injured. The relationship between the child and the woman was not given.

The arrested woman was transported to the Macomb County Jail where she was processed into the Jail on charges of Operating While Intoxicated, Child Endangerment and Possession of Marijuana. Her name has not been given.

The deputy has been released from the hospital. His name was not given but Wickersham says he has worked for the Sheriff's Office for 4.5 years.