A 25-year old Hartford man trying to leave a Marathon Service Station and convenience store in Lawrence Township late last night backed his vehicle into a Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department squad car and ended up being taken to jail for being registering than two times the legal limit for blood alcohol level. Sadly, he had his two-year old son in the car at the time of the incident.
Deputies Brian Matthews and Dan Rowse say that they were on routine patrol shortly before 11pm last night, Friday, March 10th, when they noticed the man leaving the business which was getting ready to close for the night. As deputies approached him he slammed onto the brakes and shifted into reverse, accelerating backwards from the lot of the station located at the corner of Red Arrow Highway and CR 681. He struck the squad car and damaged both his own vehicle and that of the deputies.
After tests showed the man to be more than two times the legal limit, he was determined by Michigan Law to be what is considered to be “Super Drunk,” and was taken into custody. Nobody was injured in the incident, and the Hartford man was jailed on charges of operating while having a high blood alcohol content along with child endangerment.
The case has been forwarded to the Van Buren County Prosecutor’s Office for prosecution. Authorities are asking anyone with information regarding the incident to call the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office at 269-657-3101, Silent Observer at 269-343-2100, or Crime Stoppers at 800-342-STOP.
