One 'Race', Two Vehicles, Two Crashes, Three Operating While Intoxicated Arrests

Both Passenger and Driver are Arraigned for OWI in Crashing a Jeep a Half Hour After the Truck They Were Supposedly Racing Against Crashed Two Miles Away

The initial sheriff's report seemed to have contradictory information within it concerning two crashes that occurred on South Lakeshore Drive on Monday night, October 16th.  As reported in both the COLDNews and Mason County Press:   

A late night race between two vehicles in southern Mason County has resulted in three people being arrested after both vehicles ended up crashing at separate locations along South Lakeshore Drive Monday evening.

The first crash occurred at Sunset Road and was reported at 11:05 p.m. A 23-year-old Scottville man reportedly lost control of his vehicle while racing another vehicle; the vehicle left the road and rolled over. The driver was treated for minor injuries at the scene and then arrested by the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.

The second crash was reported at 11:30 p.m. at Meisenheimer Road when a Jeep Wrangler driven by a 25-year-old Shelby woman left the road and struck several trees after the 22-year-old male passenger from Ludington reportedly grabbed the wheel and jerked the vehicle off the road into several trees, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office. The passenger was treated at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital for minor injuries, before being transported to jail.

The first question that comes to mind is the use of the word 'race' in these accounts.  The first crash reported at 11:05 (site noted in red in the above map of the general area), happened where Lakeshore bends quite dramatically and the speed limit is 25 mph.  Clearly the driver, Brayden Chavalia of Scottville, could not negotiate the bend because he was likely driving too fast and was at a .15 blood alcohol content.  But about two miles further north (black dot), the jeep crashes while 'racing' the other vehicle that has been out of commission for 25 minutes.  Presuming the two were about even before the crash of the truck, the jeep had an average speed of about 5 mph afterwards in this race.

The second question comes with two vehicle operators being arrested for Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) and have since been arraigned.  According to the COLDNews update, Megan Brown of Shelby was driving, when her passenger, Alberto Ramirez of Ludington, allegedly grabbed the wheel when he saw a deer in the road and grabbed the wheel to avoid hitting the animal.  Both of them were tested at .16 BAC shortly after the accident, and would be considered impaired.  

But how can a passenger in a vehicle be charged with operating a vehicle while impaired?  The simple act of reaching over and grabbing the steering wheel to avert a road hazard does not equate to operating a vehicle from how I read state law.  While the definition of operating in the state motor vehicle code (MVC) is suitably ambiguous, so is OWI.  What is better defined is the process of testing the 'operator' of a vehicle found in MCL 625a.  

This law at subsection 1(a) states:  " A peace officer may arrest a person [when] the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe the person was, at the time of an accident, the operator of a vehicle involved in the accident and was [OWI]. "  The next subsection says that:  "A peace officer may arrest a person [when] the person is found in the driver's seat of a vehicle parked or stopped on a highway or street within this state if any part of the vehicle intrudes into the roadway and the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe the person was [OWI]."

In the MI MVC, the word 'person' may apply to "every natural person, firm, copartnership, association, or corporation and their legal successors.", in the above law, the term 'person' is being used in its regular way, not its legal way, and therefore is one individual, otherwise it would be 'people'.   Accordingly, only one person can be arrested operating a single vehicle at any given time.  Likewise, since the law acknowledges that the person in the driver's seat is presumed to be the operator of the vehicle in such situations, they should be the one ultimately arrested for OWI.  

There is no law against being a drunk passenger, even if you unwittingly cause the operator to crash their vehicle, you should be immune to facing the consequences of OWI (other charges may be applicable).  The truck Chavalia was driving also had two passengers who may have been impaired, but they weren't deemed complicit in that crash as operators.  

Be that as it may, the three speed racers were all arraigned in court and released on $2500 bond.  Just another day of odd justice and odder definitions of races and operators in Mason County.

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A guy that used to work for me after work on a friday decided to stop at the bar for a couple of cold ones. As he is pulling into the alley behind the bar a women backs into his truck causing minor damage , they both decided to let it go. Later a police officer comes into the bar and wants him to take a breathalyzer test . The woman later called the cops and changed the story around to make him at fault. He was arrested for DUI  , setting on a bar stool.  Another guy I know felt he has to much to drink and pulled his car off the road into a entrance to a farmers field. Then got into the back seat to sleep it off. Police knock on his window . Arrest him for OUI . They stated he was drunk, had been driving because the keys were in the ignition even though he wasn't in the drivers seat.

This is a perfect example of bad reporting by local media and shines a shining light on how X gets the facts straight when he posts articles on the Torch. How could the MCP post this kind of story with such convoluted information. It shows that they are not diligent when it comes to verifying facts or even questioning what the police report to them. If the MCP insists on being in the media business it would be a good idea for them to make an effort to print the news that informs and makes clear what that information is about instead of creating a situation where more questions are raised about what actually took place.

stump, you know some very unlucky people. That woman probably sweet talked the guy into thinking there might be a reward for him after the lights go out if he would forget about the fender bender.

The other guy did the wrong thing by driving drunk but did the right thing by pulling over and resting. This is a situation where he was damned if he didn't do the right thing and damned if he did. The police should have left him alone. Another case of poor judgement by law enforcement.

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