Troy Police: 421 calls, 7 DUI arrests in three nights
TROY, Mich. (WJBK) - Labor Day is next weekend but Troy police were busy this past weekend responding to 421 calls - including 7 suspected drunk driving arrests.
The Troy Police Department chronicled their DUI arrests on Twitter from Thursday night through Saturday night. Considering the reported preliminary results of Preliminary Breath Tests (PBT), it's a miracle no innocent drivers were hurt. Keep in mind that Michigan's legal limit is .08
The first report came in on Thursday after 7 pm when police were called to a hit and run crash at I-75 and Adams. They tracked down the car that left the scene and the driver, a 61-year-old, denied drinking. His PBT .149 (almost twice the legal limit). He was arrested and Troy police said this was his third OWI offense.
The next call, nearly three hours later, police said they stopped a driver for erratic driving. He was a 66-year-old and Troy police said he smelled of alcohol and performed poorly on sobriety field tests. He also said he didn't have anything to drink. His (PBT) was .127. He was arrested.
Troy police had another arrest the next night, Friday at 10:15 when they went to stop a driver for erratic driving. Officers said they found the car was parked, and the driver was hiding behind it. He said he only had one drink. His PBT was .24. He was arrested for OWI.
Just before 1 a.m. on Saturday, police stopped a car at Maple and Dequindre. A 53-year-old man told police he had one drink but his PBT was .136. He was arrested for OWI.
At 4:15 Saturday morning, police stopped a 2016 Mustang for equipment violation. The 24-year-old driver said he had just left the casino and didn't have much to drink. His PBT was .096 and Troy police said an open bottle of liquor was in the car. He was arrested for open container and OWI.
The next call could have been tragic. At 8 p.m. on Saturday, police were called to southbound I-75 just north of Maple to an injury crash where one of the cars had caught fire. Troy police said the at-fault driver rear-ended the other car and forced both into the guardrail.
The car that caught fire was the one belonging to the suspected drunk driver - who was pulled from the burning car by a witness before police arrived. Police said the driver appears to be intoxicated and is currently in the hospital for treatment and a blood draw was conducted.
The last call came in at 11:30 Saturday night when police stopped a 1999 Jeep for erratic driving. They said the driver admitted to having a few drinks and didn't have insurance. Police also suspect the driver was using narcotics. The driver agreed to a blood test and charges are pending.
All of these suspected drunk drivers could have been avoided with a taxi, Uber, Lyft, or a friend taking them home.
This weekend is Labor Day weekend and in 2017, 15 people died in traffic crashes - more than a quarter of which were alcohol-related. Get a ride or stay home.