Man Arrested for OWI After Accident on I-96 in Novi

A man was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated after allegedly rear-ending a car with his pickup truck on eastbound I-96 at 1:30 a.m. Oct. 21, according to a police report.

Two officers were dispatched on a report of an accident on I-96 east of Novi Road. The driver who was hit said he was traveling down the road when his car was rear-ended by the pickup truck, the report said. The car had heavy rear-end damage, and the pickup truck was on the south shoulder of the road. The driver who was struck was transported by ambulance to Providence Park Hospital for evaluation of minor injuries, including neck pain, the report said.

A witness who had pulled over after the accident said he saw the driver of the pickup truck driving all over the roadway and suspected he was intoxicated, the report said.

When police questioned the driver of the pickup truck, he was swaying and his speech was slurred, the report said. He told police that someone had hit his vehicle and he refused any medical treatment, the report said. Both of the pickup truck’s airbags had deployed, the report said. The man said he had drunk many alcoholic beverages that evening, the report said. There were not any passengers in either vehicle.

Police conducted sobriety tests and the driver of the pickup truck was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.207, which is more than double Michigan’s legal driving limit of 0.08. Police then searched the car and found a half-open, 12-oz bottle of cold beer on the floorboard of the driver’s side, the report said. Police also found a receipt from 9:30 p.m. at Uptown Grill in Commerce Township, showing the man had paid for more than a dozen shots, the report said.

The man was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and his case is being forwarded to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office for review of all possible charges.

If you have questions about this blotter, contact Editor Rebecca Jaskot at rebecca.jaskot@patch.com.