Intoxicated man drives rental car into pond in Pontiac, claims he was helping

PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - A man and woman in a rental car drove into a retention pond in Pontiac early Tuesday.

When Oakland County sheriff's deputies arrived at Opdyke Road and CenterPoint Parkway just after 1:30 a.m., they saw a man and woman in wet clothes walking toward the Marriott Hotel. When a deputy told the pair to stop, the man turned around and approached the deputy but the woman kept walking into a wooded area.

The man denied knowing anything about the car in the pond or the woman. When questioned, the man, who smelled like intoxicants, told deputies he was in the water to help. He then started answering questions only with "no comment" when asked about the woman with him.

Deputies found a key fob for a Nissan with an attached tag labeled "Enterprise Car Rental" in the man's pocket. An unoccupied Nissan was found fully submerged in the pond by the sheriff's office Marine Division.

The man was arrested. The results of a blood chemical analysis are pending.

Authorities said employees at the Marriott Hotel told them that the man was staying there and had checked in earlier. Deputies tried unsuccessfully to contact the woman in the room rented by the man.