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Driver suspected of causing fatal crash on Lodge has 21 previous traffic violations
Michigan State Police say a 34-year-old was driving a Chrysler Town & Country minivan at a high rate of speed and crashed into a red car.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The suspect has a criminal driving record that stretches from June of this year back to 2007. The 34-year-old man from Warren has his license suspended and ended up back in court for traffic violations and drug charges.
The crash closed the Lodge near West Outer Drive at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
"I heard a boom and I never thought in a million years it would be this horrific," said Regina Strayhorn.
Michigan State Police say a 34-year-old was driving a Chrysler Town & Country minivan at a high rate of speed and crashed into a red car.
"You can’t even tell what kind of car it is,"Strayhorn said.
Due to the damage, police also did not identify the second vehicle. The Secretary of State said it was a 2009 Chevrolet Aveo.
A 21-year-old from Detroit was a passenger in the red car and died at the scene. Another passenger had critical injuries.
Police suspect the driver of the van was under the influence but he refused all tests.
Digging into his records we found at least 21 driving violations, many more if you include his failure to comply with court orders.
The 34-year-old from Warren first had his license suspended for disobeying a traffic signal in July of 2007.
He had four more offenses in 2008 - careless driving, speeding and driving on a suspended license.
In 2009 he was pulled over for the exact same offenses and again, had his license suspended.
In 2010 he was issued a ticket for going 50 in a 35-mile-per-hour speed limit, and again his license was suspended.
Four years later he was arrested for controlled substances and fleeing and eluding. One more time his license was suspended.
Car drives off I-96 service drive, crashing upside down, killing driver on freeway
It appears the car came from the service drive and drove through the fence down the embankment and onto the freeway.
In 2020 he was stopped for going 98 where the speed limit was 70. A couple months later he was involved in an injury accident on a motorcycle.
And this year he was arrested on another controlled substance charge and convicted one week prior to this crash on the Lodge.
FOX 2 did speak with the Warren man’s attorney who wasn't aware of the latest crash and did not offer any comment other than his client was mild-mannered and a nice guy.
One person died and another was injured in this Chevy Aveo that was hit in the crash.