Driver Says He Drank Most Of A 5th Of Vodka Before M-59 Quintuple Fatal Crash
HOWELL (WWJ/AP) - A 21-year-old Fenton man charged with causing an accident near Howell that killed five people says he wishes he had died.
Matthew Carrier told the Livingston Daily Press & Argus that he feels terrible, would love to take it all back and wants the victims' families to know he is sorry. Carrier said he was at a party with friends that night, drank "most" of a fifth of Smirnoff vodka and doesn't remember the crash.
State Police said Carrier was driving drunk at around 100 miles an hour when he ran through a stop sign on M-59 at Argentine Road in Oceola Township on May 9, striking another vehicle. One car overturned; the other caught fire.
"I never meant to do what I did to those people. I can't imagine how they feel," he told the newspaper Friday.
"I wish I had died," Carrier said, adding that "it would be fair" if he went to prison.
Carrier's passengers, 18-year-old Justin Andrew-Humberto Henderson and 24-year-old Preston Wetzel, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Also killed were 35-year-old Oakland County resident Candice Dunn, who had just been named Michigan Department of Correction Parole-Probation Agent of the Year the night of the crash; Dunn's mother, 69-year-old Linda K. Hurley of Macomb County; and 73-year-old Jerome Tortomasi of Macomb County.
Carrier and two others were critically injured. [See photos from the crash]
Records provided by the Secretary of State's Office show Carrier has an extensive record of driving-related issues, including citations for careless driving, speeding and drunken driving. A Secretary of State spokesman said Carrier's license was suspended at the time of the crash because of unpaid tickets.
He remains jailed without bond, charged with 19 counts including five counts of second-degree murder, operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death and driving on a suspended license causing death.
Carrier's next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 23.
© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
