By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
OXFORD – A Davison man who allegedly caused a five-vehicle crash on M-24 was caught after fleeing the scene of the accident and now has a court date.
The Oxford Police Department received a call around 4:37 p.m. March 14 for an accident involving four vehicles and a semi-truck that occurred at N. Washington and First streets, according to an Oxford Police Department incident report.
Oxford firefighter/EMTs were already at the accident and, upon arriving at the scene, Oxford police officers began checking vehicles for injured motorists when a man waved to one of the police officers and said that the individual who caused the accident had driven his vehicle down a street north of the crash, the report stated.
Two Oxford police officers left the accident scene in pursuit of the suspect, who was described as a white male in his 30s, approximately six feet tall wearing blue jeans and a gray jacket or hoodie.
The officers searched the area and found an unoccupied pickup truck with heavy front-end damage on Lincoln Avenue. A witness told officers that he had last seen the suspect running in a field north from where he abandoned his vehicle.
Oxford police requested assistance from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office to help track the suspect. A sheriff’s office sergeant later found a man matching the suspect’s description and took him into custody.
The sheriff’s office sergeant transported the suspect to the accident scene and informed the Oxford police officers that the suspect admitted to being the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident.
Oxford Fire Department EMTs cleared the suspect of injuries.
When Oxford police asked the suspect what had happened the suspect said he “has been working a lot and nodded off because he was tired,” according to the incident report.
The suspect also told police that he did not have a driver’s license and, when asked if he had been drinking, admitted to having “one beer a while ago,” the report stated.
The suspect passed field sobriety tests and two preliminary breath tests came back with zero blood alcohol content results.
The suspect, a 40-year-old white male from Davison, Michigan, was taken into custody for reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident and driving while his license is revoked. He was taken to the Oxford Police Department for processing and given instructions to contact the 52-3 District Court within 10 business days.
There were minor injuries to a 12-year-old boy from Leonard. No one else was injured, according to the report.
“I’d like to thank the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in apprehending the suspect,” said Oxford Police Chief Mike Solwold.