Man accused of being high on weed crashes into parked car
A man was arrested Sunday morning in Saline on suspicion of being high on marijuana after he crashed his vehicle into a parked car, police said.
Police responded at 6:36 a.m. Sunday to a residence in the 200 block of Monroe Street after being notified of a collision. Upon arrival, officers found a parked car with rear-end damage and the 22-year-old Ypsilanti man’s vehicle a few feet away with front-end damage, a police report indicated.
The man apologized to officers for hitting the car and then said he hit it while attempting to avoid a truck that was in his lane, the report stated. It was the first of many contradicting statements the man gave to police, according to the report.
While speaking with the 40-year-old woman who lived at the residence, and the owner of the parked car, officers observed the man attempting to use a knife to cut the airbag out of his steering wheel, according to the report. Officers had him put the knife in the passenger seat and then searched him, finding a glass pipe in his pocket, according to the report.
It was a pipe commonly used to smoke marijuana, according to the report.
The man’s speech was slow and his eyes were bloodshot and watery, the report stated. He told police originally he didn’t smoke marijuana but was unable to explain why the pipe was in his possession, the report stated.
Officers put the man through a series of sobriety tests and eventually placed him under arrest for suspicion of operating under the influence of drugs. Officers found through more investigation there was reason to believe he had smoked marijuana in the hours before the accident, the report stated.
The suspect told police the car had stopped in front of him, causing the collision. Through more investigation, police discovered the car had in fact been parked there since the previous night, the report stated.
Charges are pending against the man and he has been released from police custody.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Madeleine Borthwick
Tue, Jun 5, 2012 : 6:06 p.m.
Hey, I believe that marijuana should be legalized but driving under its influence is another matter entirely. what you do in your own home is your business but when you put your buzzed-up self behind the wheel of a car it BECOMES MY BUSINESS. "your right to swing your fist ends where my face begins."
stevek
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 1:22 p.m.
But I thought pot was harmless... Where are all the pro-marijuana posters now?
stevek
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 2:26 p.m.
Really?---I am actually all for the legalization of marijuana, and believe that alcohol is more dangerous. I am saying that, in general, most of the pro-pot people see pot as COMPLETELY unaddicting and completely harmless.
stevek
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 6:29 p.m.
Ron--yeah, obviously much safer...
chelsea
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 2:57 a.m.
Why is this news?
Basic Bob
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 1:47 a.m.
The half-empty sack of White Castles was a clue.
alex
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 11:58 p.m.
blood shot eyes at 6:30 AM?? Sounds like me waking up every single day... I look like all hell when I wake up, and that's way before I get stoned!
justcurious
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 11:26 p.m.
More likely marijuana would cause his eyes to become dilated rather than bloodshot, as I recall. This really is a non story. Very strange to find it on here...or is it?
alex
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 11:52 p.m.
marijuana does not dilate your eyes...
SMC
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 4:01 p.m.
Someone high on marijuana does something stupid, and it makes the news? What's the lead story in tomorrow morning's edition? "Sun Rises in Eastern Sky?"
Major
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 2:48 p.m.
This shows the glaring difference between Marijuana and alcohol. The pot smoker hits a parked car from behind, probably going all of 5 miles an hour, hurting only the airbag and some paint. The drunk, hits the front end of an oncoming car at combined speeds sometimes approaching, if not exceeding triple digits...lives lost, families ruined, lawyers, judges, prison. Which one is legal and morally acceptable? Something very wrong with that reality!!
jusayin
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 2:13 p.m.
slow speech or slurred speech?If it was slurred this guy was most certainly high on more than MJ and if it was slow speech maybe that's just the way he talks? Neither slowed or slurry speech speaks (no pun...etc.) to just being high on MJ.
Bonsai
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 1:36 p.m.
editors must've been high on weed if they thought this was news I think somewhere in the county a dog bit a man too.
Bonsai
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 2:39 p.m.
yes, I have been bitten by a dog, and I called the newspaper immediately. "firing up the weeders and lawhounds" etc. etc. is a judgment that has more to do with page views than news value -- that's not what I want from my local news source
Billy Bob Schwartz
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 7:27 p.m.
Bonsai...Did you ever get bitten by a dog? It's not the yuk-yuk you seem to think it is. The editors most likely thought this article would fire up the weeders and the lawhounds and get everyone making all kinds of irrational comments on both sides. If so, they succeeded. To me, the bottom line isn't which drug is worse, but if using it and driving can get a member of my family hurt or killsd. Is it this guy's alleged luck in not hitting a mom our for a morning jog instead of a parked car that you are defending? If it makes you loopy, don't drive, or pay the price.
ChelseaBob
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:55 p.m.
Extremely wasted at 6 AM? Wow.
Wumpus
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:36 p.m.
I miss the days when this site was a paper. The writing was so much better and they didn't throw up random articles just to fill space.
Wumpus
Sun, May 27, 2012 : 5:23 p.m.
Craig, I'm not sure why you would assume that I have a Masters in Journalism and if I don't that I'm flipping burgers. Do you have a Masters in Journalism or are you flipping burgers? Must be one or the other.
Ann English
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 12:31 a.m.
Remember the story of Michael O'Neill in Ypsilanti? He and some friends met each other at a Hamilton Street intersection in Ypsilanti and refused to clear the intersection when a policeman showed up to tell them to clear it. Michael O'Neill had had some beers and marijuana beforehand, and didn't take the cop or his words seriously. He did go up to the cop's open car window and started hitting him, knocking his eyeglasses off, and was shot through the heart by the cop, who was later exonerated. This story was written in the Ann Arbor News when it was a daily paper, and it was a front page, top-or-the-page story when it first came out. It may have taken place about 30 years ago. You miss the days when it was a paper? I miss the monthly articles by Dennis Kahlbaum about the weather expectations and statistics for each month of the year.
craigjjs
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:58 p.m.
So, start your own newspaper. Put that Masters in Journalism to work, or are you too busy flipping burgers.
HeimerBoodle
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:21 p.m.
I know this is Ann Arbor, and I know that this site is barely a credible news source...but "high on weed"? Really? You sound like my 70 year old father trying to speak the Young People's Lingo.
Jojo B
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 5:41 p.m.
james--Don't take this discussion too seriously. I'd be the first to admit all of the problems with smoking pot. It's not as obvious a problem as with alcohol abuse and driving drunk, but marijuana can be a big problem for many people. Aside from the fact that it blackens your lungs like anything else that you smoke, it impairs your decision-making ability and your reflexes. Most smokers are smart enough to not drive a car when impaired, but obviously not all. The big difference between pot and alcohol though is that pot doesn't make people angry and defensive the way that excessive drinking can. The worst thing about pot though is that it stunts your emotional growth. I've known too many people who smoked "weed" on a daily basis as their escape. While nothing bad happened to them, nothing happened to them at all. Their habit destroyed their drive to do anything with their lives and they are as immature and going nowhere as they were twenty years ago. Blame pot for all of their problems? Probably not, but the addiction didn't help them either. So I see it as a harmless drug if you don't give a cr@p about doing anything with your life. Is that serious enough?
james
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 4:42 p.m.
This is why I can't take you or many of the people commenting here seriously. Instead of talking about the real dangers of smoking up and driving (which everyone here seems to be forgetting..maybe they are high?), you make fun of the words that they are using to describe the situation. If they were driving drunk, we would see a ton of comments about the dangers of alcohol and the stupidity of drivers. When it involves your beloved mary jane, you can't do wrong. Since there can't really ever be any honesty about it's use and health effects (aside from an article in high times), I will never vote to get it legalized.
Jojo B
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 3:46 p.m.
No, this is more like old person's lingo. We were all "high on weed" back in the 80s and 90s.
HereAndThere
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:01 p.m.
Was he going to hide the pipe in the airbag???
Simon Green
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 11:47 a.m.
...and that's why they call it dope.
The Black Stallion3
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 1:47 a.m.
I thought "weed" was good for you......How could he do this?
bunnyabbot
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 3 p.m.
@alex, you said "(something that has almost no affect on your driving whatsoever).", if that is the case, this isn't the normal way the dude drives is it? Lord help us all.
alex
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 11:56 p.m.
@cinnabar7071 I don't think anyone wants their car crashed into regardless if they are high on something or not. No one should drive under the influence of anything even if it's just marijuana (something that has almost no affect on your driving whatsoever). Just stay at home, smoke a joint and watch tv if you're going to smoke at all.
cinnabar7071
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:11 p.m.
alex I think bunnyabbot would happy if nobody ran into her car. I dont think it matters what they are high on, and since he was charged I think the police agree.
Homeland Conspiracy
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 11:49 a.m.
But alex a man in a white jacket told me that xanax & oxycontin are "good for me" so if a man in a white jacket tells me they are "good for me" then it must be true.
alex
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 5:59 a.m.
@bunnyabbot would you rather have someone high on xanax or oxycontin crash into your car just because they're legal?
bunnyabbot
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 4:45 a.m.
that's right, it's all medically necessary and fun and games until your parked car is hit by some stoner, stoned out of his gourd.
alex
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 4:34 a.m.
i don't think anyone says it's "good" for you (other than medical marijuana patients, rightfully so) the thing is is that it's not particularly bad for you...
RJA
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 1:45 a.m.
Wow, high on (drugs) WEED at 6:36 a.m. and a liar to boot. Great arrest Saline Police!
ranger007
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 2:08 a.m.
Suprise they didn't get into a high speed chase with him.
Halter
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:34 a.m.
Oh my gosh, a whole article about something that would normally be a few lines in a police blotter...slow news day.... "Man high on marijuana arrested in Saline after crashing his car into a parked car on the street." Done. What do we seriously have to discuss here????......
Woman in Ypsilanti
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 4:40 p.m.
@cinnabar7071 I don't think most people think it is ok to drive stoned. There are some people who claim that marijuana impairs driving ability less than alcohol but that isn't the same thing as saying that it is ok to drive stoned. I am very much in favor of making marijuana legal but I sure don't think it is ok to get behind the wheel when you are too stoned to notice a parked car. I would be surprised if anyone does.
cinnabar7071
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:17 p.m.
"What do we seriously have to discuss here????......" Halter how about we discuss why someone feels its OK to drive so stoned that he puts other peoples lives at risk. How about we discuss why so many on here feel its OK to drive so stoned that they put peoples lives at risk. Never mind just go about your life and pray they dont kill someone you care about, Halter you do have someone in your life you care about, dont you?
Anna
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 11:24 p.m.
"The suspect told police the car had stopped in front of him, causing the collision. Through more investigation, police discovered the car had in fact been parked there since the previous night, the report stated." Hah, that high.
Basic Bob
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 3:33 p.m.
Yeah, good thing a tree didn't jump out in front of him.
Homeland Conspiracy
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 11:15 p.m.
Crab Grass & driving don't mix
ranger007
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 2:06 a.m.
Maybe it was Kentucky blue grass...that will sneak up and get ya
Mike
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 10:28 p.m.
Just another good reason to legalize marijuana except the underground trade in cards would be gone......very lucrative. If you're gonna get high and drive, marijuana is definitely the drug of choice.
HONDO
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 9:35 p.m.
"High on WEED" or " Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance ie. MARIJUANA", cause if its "weed"... garden weed or sidewalk weed. Could explain his heading towards the curb. oops sorry mislead by the title or lazy title.... cause if "weed" makes you crash your car, then Ill stick to " Marijuana"
towncryer
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 9:29 p.m.
High on weed? Nice headline, lol.
a2cents
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 8:39 p.m.
Thank goodness it was medication... it could have been so much worse if it was drugs.
jmcmurray
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 2:56 a.m.
Where in the story did it say he was a medical marijuana patient?
Forever27
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 8:38 p.m.
so he was a bad driver, what does weed have to do with that? i see sober people do even dumber things all the time.
bobslowson
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 1:23 p.m.
Pot causes "aggressive behavior"? Now I've heard everything! Obviously someone who has never smoked, or been around ANYONE that has smoked...
alex
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 1:19 a.m.
@Ann English I also believe it's a little easier to smell marijuana on someone because unlike alcohol the scent sticks to your clothes/hair.
alex
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 1:18 a.m.
@Ann English The only aggressive behavior marijuana can cause is making you open the refrigerator door aggressively... Seriously though, I had to go to a drug counselor when I was young because my mom found out I smoked and I specifically remember my counselor telling my "no one has ever smoked a joint and went out and decided to kill someone, just don't take it any further". If anything, marijuana suppresses aggressive behavior.
Ann English
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 12:20 a.m.
Jimmy, I take it from the article that, unlike alcohol, no one can smell marijuana on another's breath. I still believe that marijuana increases aggressive behavior, both behind the wheel and in non-driving situations.
Woman in Ypsilanti
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 4:36 p.m.
That is one of the things about driving under the influence. Even if the accident would have happened anyways, the driver who is under the influence is going to get hit with the much more severe charge. The only way to protect yourself from this is to always drive sober. I have been in accidents that weren't my fault before and had I been drunk or high when that happened, I would be in jail but since I always drive sober, I don't have to worry. I know how to beat those coppers in this game. Ha ha.
Jimmy McNulty
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 11:11 a.m.
@Forever, did you actually read the story? Weed likely had everything to do with that accident. I'm not anti-pot by a longshot, but c'mon, if it looks like a dog and barks like a dog- well, usually it's a dog.
alex
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 4:31 a.m.
i agree, driving in ann arbor is terrifying to me. I almost get hit/see someone blaze through a red light/go the wrong way on a one way street every day on my 5 minute drive to work... and i doubt everyone is stoned.
u812
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 8:23 p.m.
If he had been drinking should we bring back prohibition
smokeblwr
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 8:15 p.m.
Was he licensed? He may have cataracts or some kind of awful pain that requires him to be high.
SMC
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 3:58 p.m.
If he had cataracts, what in god's name was he doing behind the wheel of a car?
GoNavy
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 8:40 p.m.
Or, perhaps he suffered from anxiety.