By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE — A 51-year-old Westland man was arrested the night of Dec. 1 for his third drunken driving offense, as well as for fleeing and eluding police, after he fell asleep at a traffic light before driving west in the eastbound lanes of Outer Drive.
The man, who had an active felony arrest warrant, was also charged with refusing to cooperate during booking.
The driver, who was in a tan 2002 Buick LeSabre, was initially reported to dispatch by a motorist for falling asleep at the intersection of Outer Drive and Dix Avenue.
When a police officer arrived at the location and activated his emergency lights, the man awoke and drove his vehicle west on Outer Drive.
The police officer activated his sirens and pursued the fleeing man, who started driving west in the southbound lanes of Outer Drive, running a red light at Hanna Street. The police officer used his public address system to order the driver to stop, which he did at Harman Street.
Another police officer arrived at the scene. The man refused to exit his car and tried to put it in reverse. When he finally put his car in park, one of the police officers removed the keys from the ignition to prevent him from fleeing again.
The police officers removed the man from the vehicle, searched him and placed him in handcuffs. He smelled strongly of intoxicants, was unsteady on his feet and unable to communicate coherently, but denied drinking any alcohol.
Because of his level of intoxication, the police officers did not attempt to conduct standardized field sobriety tests.
His vehicle was impounded and towed. The man was unable to provide an adequate breath sample for a preliminary breath test, so a search warrant for a blood draw was obtained, and he was transported to a local hospital.
After he was medically cleared, he was taken to the police station to be held. He refused to cooperate with booking procedures. The following morning, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office counter terrorism unit took him into custody for an outstanding warrant.