MSP: Alcohol Not A Factor In Double Fatal Involving Wrong-Way Driver On I-275

DETROIT (WWJ) - A wrong-way crash in Canton Township earlier this month was not caused by drunk driving.

Michigan State Police First Lt. Michael Shaw says they tested the driver for alcohol after he drove the wrong way on I-275 near Michigan Avenue and crashed into another car, killing the two people inside. But those test results came back as negative.

"We still want to determine exactly why he was going the wrong way in traffic - was there something medical involved? Was there other factors that may have been involved to put this together?" says Shaw.

Drunk driving was originally suspected because the driver, from Wolverine Lake, had an open bottle of alcohol in his car.

"We did get alcohol results back -- which were .000 -- but we did not get our drug screen back as of yet."

Shaw says they're still waiting on search warrants and autopsy results before sending the case to the prosecutor's office for any possible charges.

"I know there were a lot of people who were disappointed or thought that we should immediately arrest this individual," says Shaw. "But when it really comes down to it, we need to make sure that we have all the facts available to give the prosecutor a good solid investigation and look at and determine if there is criminal things that are factors into this or is it just a traffic crash?"

On Dec. 12, MSP got a call about a driver in a silver SUV going southbound in the northbound lanes of the freeway at Ford Road. At around 10:45 a.m., police say that driver hit a car at South Palmer Road, near Michigan Avenue.

The driver, identified only as a 59-year-old man from Wolverine Lake, was hospitalized for minor injuries.