Police: Woman was drunk, texting before hitting telephone pole and rolling her vehicle
A 24-year-old woman was drunk and texting when she rolled this Ford Escape in Saline last week, according to police.
Courtesy of Saline police
A 24-year-old Ypsilanti woman was "super drunk" and texting when her Ford Escape collided with a telephone pole and rolled last week, police said.
According to a Saline police report, officers were sent at 11:26 p.m. Wednesday to Harper Drive and Calder Court for a report of a one-car rollover accident. When they arrived, the woman was outside the Ford Escape holding her bleeding hands up and apologizing.
The woman said she was driving and police immediately noticed the smell of intoxicants coming from her. Her hands had been cut from crawling on glass to get out of the vehicle, but she appeared to be fine otherwise.
The report said the woman had left Dan’s Tavern and was driving to her boyfriend’s house. She was texting him when suddenly the Escape was rolling over, she told police. She could not tell what had caused the vehicle to roll or what the impetus for the crash was.
There was damage on a nearby telephone pole, seemingly from the crash, according to the report.
The woman took a preliminary breath test that registered at .20 percent, more than twice Michigan’s .08 legal limit and more than the .17 percent blood alcohol level required to trigger stiffer “super drunk” punishments. No field sobriety tests were done because of potential injuries the woman may have suffered.
She later complained of chest pain and was transported by Huron Valley Ambulance to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. While there, she had blood drawn for a formal blood test on her blood alcohol level.
The woman was not immediately processed for operating while intoxicated because she was in the hospital and the case is still open.
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
Tracie
Thu, Aug 23, 2012 : 12:04 a.m.
She's a young woman who made a very serious mistake, not Ted Bundy. So many of you have completely demonized this person who for all you know is the nice waitress at your favorite breakfast place into a soulless monster who should rot in jail for the rest of her life. What a punishment-happy bunch. She should face whatever the normal consequences are for a first-time DUI and use them to make better decisions in the future.
god's hammer
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 6:56 p.m.
Poor girl, i'm glad she was not hurt.
81wolverine
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 6:54 p.m.
This accident is just one example of the the serious problem that using cell phones while driving has become. I've done a lot of highway driving lately, and I've seen quite a few vehicles (trucks included) driving somewhat erratically (swerving in their lanes). And whenever I pass them, inevitably, they have a cell phone in their hands.
SEC Fan
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 6:49 p.m.
Just curious, but why hasn't the driver been named? Is it because charges haven't been filed?
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 7:02 p.m.
Indeed. The case was still open as of yesterday, when this was printed. No charges have been filed to my knowledge.
Dutch Thomas
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 6:37 p.m.
Since Texting is worse than driving drunk according to a recent study of good standing than one must wonder...had she only been drunk would she have made her booty call? Wonder if he came to bail her out? "I don't know how the car rolled" Because you were looking at your PHONE and not the road like so many good people out there who think they are Super Mom/an able to leap the laws of physics and neurology with a single bound.
Dutch Thomas
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 6:31 p.m.
Raid and Close all the bars!!! They sell a dangerous drug to anyone with picture ID from anywhere!!! We are all going to die.....AIIEEEE...get those medical maryjuany pot shops too!!!
GoNavy
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 5:06 p.m.
Do I need to say it? Another SUV on its back. Yep, SUV's sure look safer than cars...
Madeleine Borthwick
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:09 p.m.
Chest pain, my "arse"....she just didn't want to go to jail!!!!!
Billy Bob Schwartz
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 2:36 p.m.
In my opinion, a person has to be superdrunk to text while driving. Or just plain nuts.
Madeleine Borthwick
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:10 p.m.
maybe both?
JRW
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:49 p.m.
There is no excuse for this behavior. No license for a long time along with jail time. No excuses.
Fatkitty
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 8:27 p.m.
@ god's hammer, most likely this young woman has been a habitual "texter". It starts with a casual text, and it grows to needing the continual contact - a fix, if you will, regardless of where/what you're doing at the moment. It's not one single "mistake" as you implied, but probably a long thread of poor judgment that finally led to this. Question is, did she learn anything from it, or will she continue to text and drive, or drink and drive?
god's hammer
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 7:12 p.m.
Get off your high horse, things happen to people in life. People make mistakes. Only allmighty God is perfect.
JRW
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:47 p.m.
"She was texting him when suddenly the Escape was rolling over, she told police. She could not tell what had caused the vehicle to roll or what the impetus for the crash was." Huh? You are drunk and texting, that was the cause of the accident. What caused the vehicle to roll or the impetus for the crash? Driving super drunk and TEXTING! It's about time these perps accept responsibility for their criminal actions.
Basic Bob
Wed, Aug 22, 2012 : 1:13 a.m.
She should get the same punishment as others who do the same. How about the state representative from Novi who crashed his car in Saline and hid behind a dumpster? Charges filed and then reduced.
Birdie
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:40 p.m.
While she is responsible for her own behavior, Dan's Tavern is also responsible if they served her until she was "super drunk". Bars have a responsibility to cut people off. They should also be held responsible.
Stan Hyne
Wed, Aug 22, 2012 : 3:37 p.m.
Yes it is probably someone else is at fault. Or maybe the devil made me do it.
Birdie
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 8:55 p.m.
It doesn't matter who is driving. Bars are not suppose to serve patrons to the point of intoxication. You are not suppose to do it if they are walking. Public intoxication is also illegal (albeit a better option than drunk driving!)
treetowncartel
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:56 p.m.
Actually Sarah, i do tend to side with your position, she was sober at some point in time and she should be responsible for her actions. My earlier sentiment last night was more inclined to a personal injury attorney creating a duty for Dan's and taking the Driver of the car's duty away from her. Liberty comes with a price, just like freedom
Sarah
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:15 p.m.
Where I will agree with you to some extent, as a waitress myself, people will tell you just about anything and everything while you are serving them to keep drinking. It is required to ALWAYS ask how the person drinking is getting home when you first start serving them, They will say their sober friend sitting right next to them is driving them home just so you will keep serving them.Yet once they leave the bar what ends up happening in the parking lot is no longer in the bars control. The friends who allowed her to drive are equally as liable as the bar. Waitresses cannot walk out with every costumer holding their hand being sure they follow through with riding home with their sober driver as they had told you.
treetowncartel
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 3:15 p.m.
@ birdie, I had that same sentiment exactly when I read this for the first time last night.
MRunner73
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:38 p.m.
Glad the women wasn't seriously injured. Better still, she did not cause injury to someome else. I hope she faces multiple charges. Hopefully, she'll be cited with the maximum penalty. Police on patrol in any city could help generate revenues by citing any and all people holding a cell phone to their ear while driving. That would be nice to see. Sometimes I see one of three people driving talking on a cell phone or texting at a red light.
Stan Hyne
Wed, Aug 22, 2012 : 3:34 p.m.
Bad as it is, cell phone use isn't as bad as texting. With cell phone use the persons eyes can still be on the road
MRunner73
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:26 p.m.
No confusion about this: NO distractions behind the wheel of an automobile (red light or otherwise). Those devices do not belong in a person's hands while driving.
towncryer
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 3:26 p.m.
I think I read that in the comments once, LaMusica, but wasn't sure if it was true or not.
LaMusica
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 2:56 p.m.
I'm not sure about this, and it doesn't make it OK either, but I *think* people are legally allowed to text at red lights. I don't know when I heard this, and I might be completely wrong, but I remember it from somewhere...
rob
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:17 p.m.
The courts don't seem too eager to take away driver's licenses or to put people in jail for this kind of offense. Even when a family member is hit by one of these drunk drivers, it takes a lot of effort to get justice. PLEASE drink at home and don't text while driving. Give the rest of us a break.
G-Man
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 11:36 a.m.
Cell Phones Kill!!!!
Bertha Venation
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:38 p.m.
People who use cell phones inappropriately kill. For example, while driving.
djacks24
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:15 p.m.
I didn't see that anyone got killed in this incident. But yes, people should know better by now.
A2comments
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 7:28 a.m.
Lots of comments her needing to lose her license. PRISON PEOPLE!
Madeleine Borthwick
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:13 p.m.
A2comments, I agree. I am sick of this kind of nonsense. PRISON TIME!!!!!
jns131
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:12 p.m.
Been there done that and the wheels keep turning and we keep sending them home and they keep doing it all over again. Laws are not working on these people. Us sober people need to come up with a better solution then this. Unless drunk texting might be a solution. Probably not.
Birdie
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 3:02 p.m.
Prison? Really? I think taking her license, giving her a big fine, mandating some treatment or education, alcohol and drug testing and probation should do it.
bunnyabbot
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 6:03 a.m.
Why don't people that want to drink heavily just stay home and drink. Drunk driver = LOSER
garrisondyer
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:38 a.m.
Wow... Glad no one was hurt (aside from the driver's seemingly minor injuries). Hopefully this is a wake-up call for this woman, and she goes from her extended early 20s to her mid 20s. I know we all make mistakes now and then, but I just don't get it.... With all the negative publicity that texting and driving is getting, and the well-publicized accidents it causes.... Seriously?! And that is on top of the fact that she had a blood alcohol level of 0.20....
LaMusica
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:53 a.m.
I have NO sympathy for this woman. I am just glad the only one hurt was her drunk, texting behind. She needs to lose her license for a LONG time.
RJA
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 11:54 p.m.
@ Djacks, Perhaps it took this woman several days to sober up!
AfterDark
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 11:43 p.m.
Nice photo showing the effect of increased vehicle roof strength standards.
MARK
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:05 a.m.
Also I am impressed that the headlights were still working
hail2thevict0r
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 11:34 p.m.
People like this need their license revoked for 5-10 years. People still take drinking and driving too lightly.
hail2thevict0r
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 6:13 p.m.
Ed, just because some people choose to further break the law doesn't mean the original punishment shouldn't exist. Should we just do away with speed limit signs because a large majority of the population chooses to ignore them in one way or another?
jns131
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:10 p.m.
And like Lindsay Lohan, she will do the time and do the drive and do the time and do the drive all over again. There is nothing to stop these people from getting behind the wheel and driving. Not sure if there ever will be. Good luck with this one.
Ed Kimball
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 2:03 p.m.
Unfortunately, revoking a driver's license doesn't prevent someone from driving. Too many articles about drunk drivers include information that they were driving with a suspended or revoked license. If someone doesn't care enough to be sober to drive, why would he or she care about a valid driver's license?
Davidian
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 11:34 a.m.
They should also try 90 days in jail.
Ron Granger
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 11:17 p.m.
Won't someone please foia and publish the texts around the time of this alleged super drunk crash.
Robo
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 11:39 a.m.
probably sexting.
aanative
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 11:54 p.m.
Go right ahead.
PineyWoodsGuy
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 11:15 p.m.
Texting Crazies. The next time you're waiting in a left turn lane, observe the drivers making right turns on their green (you get the picture). Last week while waiting in the left turn lane on EB Plymouth at Frank Lloyd Wright Drive (Earheart?) I counted exactly 10 vehicles making a right turn from FLW Drive and onto WB Plymouth. Seven (7) of the drivers were texting while making the turn ! ! ! Folks, we got a very serious traffic safety problem with texters. You can avoid most drunks by not being on the road after midnight, but texters strike during the day !
Fatkitty
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 2:50 p.m.
Last Sunday around noon, I was on I-94 eastbound and came up behind a slow-moving vehicle in the right lane, ~50 mph. I passed the driver on the left, looked over at her, and she was looking down at her phone texting. I continued on my way, and noticed that not only was she 20 mph under the legal limit, but was going off on the shoulder, swerving back into the lane, etc. Definitely a danger to other drivers that day.
EyeHeartA2
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 10:35 p.m.
"She could not tell what had caused the vehicle to roll or what the impetus for the crash was." ....I'm going to go with the following answer: A super drunk driver, trying to text.
cinnabar7071
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 11:09 p.m.
LOL! Low hanging fruit. I wonder how her texting was, that'd fun to see.
RUKiddingMe
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 10:18 p.m.
I am getting so tired of the texting. SOOOOO many people are driving while looking at their phones; they never see the light turn green, the veer all over the road, and no matter ehat happens; you could beep at them at 3 grren lights in a row, they could get beeped at by an ONCOMING car so the swerve sharply back onto their side of the road, then they go right on texting. These people should be arrested and fined/punished EXACTLY the same way drunk driving is. This town could make a LOOT of money by (rightfully) ticketing texters.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 2:29 p.m.
RU...I agree. In some ways, texting and dialing and stuff is more serious than drunk driving. A drunk makes a decision to drink, and then keeps drinking as he/she gets drunker, then drives pretty much without a conscious decision. These texter/phoner types are fully conscious and make a continuing decision to put everybody else's lives at risk so they can have some entertainment or whatever. I would suggest a punishment of one year on probation while wearing an ankle tether that reports to the police and probation officer the second the convict comes in contact with any electronic device. They serve the rest of their term in the slammer. (Without electronic equipment.)
fjord
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:02 p.m.
amlive -- we barely punish drunk driving as it is. Stiffer penalties are needed for both drunk driving and texting while driving. The current drunk driving penalties obviously have little, if any, deterrent effect. E.F. Owsley -- if, in your fantasy life, you're driving and watching what other drivers are doing and then aiming your ray gun at them, you too are driving while distracted. Just saying.
Elaine F. Owsley
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 12:22 p.m.
In my fantasy life I drive with a special ray gun that sucks power from cell phones and other devices drivers seem to think are more important than safe driving. When I see them ignoring the road, I zap their devices and they can't re-boot them. It would be nice if technology could accommodate that. Where is Batman when you need him?
amlive
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 2:35 a.m.
Agreed. If texting while driving were given the same treatment as drunk driving, perhaps a few more people would take note of it. At the very least it should be moved from a civil infraction up to misdemeanor, or rightfully qualified as reckless driving. Obviously wouldn't have made any difference in this case though.
beeswing
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:47 a.m.
My daughter was walking in the crosswalk outside a grocery store today and was hit by a woman driving a car while texting. Fortunately the car was moving very slowly and my daughter is fine, just a scrape and a bruise. When the woman saw what she had done she sped off. This cell phone use while driving is getting outrageous.
Stephen Landes
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 10:07 p.m.
The media needs to find a better way to describe these incidents -- this woman's car didn't just run into a pole all by itself; the woman was not some helpless person victimized by her SUV. SHE struck a pole with her vehicle. SHE caused the crash that rolled her vehicle. Of course she has no idea what caused the crash -- SHE was super drunk and texting! The vehicle was innocent.
MARK
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:03 a.m.
Do we know if the pole jumped out in front of her ?
huh7891
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 11:49 p.m.
I agree..but did they read the SUV it's Miranda Rights?
djacks24
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 9:45 p.m.
This happened last Wednesday and now its finally printed? I know its not earth shaking news (not much is here) but still..?
daytona084
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 3:47 p.m.
The accident happened last week. The comments from the police, the police report and the blood alcohol results were more recent than that, presumably in the last day or so.
Homeland Conspiracy
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 9:45 p.m.
All cars need to come with a alcohol test so the car won't start if it detect booze, also There has to be a way to block all cell phone signals when in a car. Or just ban everything.
Fatkitty
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 8:36 p.m.
All vehicles need to be equipped with a technology that causes it to backfire (a warning to other drivers of the next thing) and stall if the driver takes one or both hands off the steering wheel. That will solve at least half the problem (texting while driving).
jns131
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:06 p.m.
Hate to say it, but she will probably sue the bar for serving her the alcohol that got her drunk in the first place. Yes, this has been done before.
bunnyabbot
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 6:07 a.m.
yes, well, these distracting stories like this where people call for this and that to be done or banned, keeps everyones eyes off the stories of them banning this or that, you know like big gulps and baby formula or wanting to know who is buying firearms and ammo, or well the stories about different government agencies buying up huge amounts of hollow points.
fishjamaica
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:19 a.m.
Smokeblower, I think you are wrong on this one A properly installed, well stocked, Bar in a Car, would eliminate the need to drive in the first place.
Pizza Man
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 11:20 p.m.
Those Alcohol testers on cars cost about $100 per month, who is going to pay for that?
smokeblwr
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 10:01 p.m.
Bars in cars would only make the problem worse.
djacks24
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 9:47 p.m.
Why not install bars instead of Windows so we can be prisoners in our own cars?
djacks24
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 9:36 p.m.
I used to live on Calder ct. It's an unmarked, 2 lane road through a crowded subdivision where the speed limit can't be more than 25mph and less than a block away from a stop-sign where the road ends and you can only turn. How fast could she have been going to hit a pole and flip the vehicle when she was either heading west just coming onto Harper from a turn off Harris, or heading east coming up to a stop sign?
djacks24
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 9:40 p.m.
Sorry, I meant Harper is an unmarked 2 lane road...
smokeblwr
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 9:34 p.m.
She needs to see that PSA from the State Police about the tricks of "Professional Drunk Drivers".
actionjackson
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 9:31 p.m.
Fortunately for the rest of the drivers, bicyclists, or for that matter anyone in her path will have one less hazard on the road for some time to come. Glad no one was hurt or killed in this particular situation.
jns131
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 4:05 p.m.
Agreed. After reading many reported stories here? She will be back on the road driving drunk and texting again. So sad we can't keep these people off the road.
towncryer
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 1:19 a.m.
That's assuming she won't be like the many who drive with a suspended license anyway.
xmo
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 9:23 p.m.
Sounds like we need tougher driving laws! Maybe a 14 day waiting period before you can buy a car and/or a background check!
HB11
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 11:48 a.m.
@lefty48197, one maniacal killer in Indiana comes to mind. After he killed his family in Van Buren last week, he drove head-on into another car on the interstate and killed himself AND the other driver. Don't say cars are not a weapon of choice.
Davidian
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 : 11:31 a.m.
I'm hardcore 2nd amendment but cars vs. weapons isn't a good comparison and only muddies the waters of the argument.
Ron Granger
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 11:15 p.m.
lefty, far more people die due to bad drivers in cars in the US than due to "maniacal killers". NHTSA: In 2009, 5,474 people were killed on U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved dis- tracted driving In 2009, 10,839 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.
lefty48197
Mon, Aug 20, 2012 : 10:57 p.m.
Cars and cell phones are not the weapon of choice for maniacal killers. Look at all the mass murders we've had this year. How many used cars and cell phones?