The luck of the Irish was not with a Burton man on the morning of March 18.
According to the Lake Orion Police Department, the 35-year-old man struck five parked cars in the American Legion parking lot off Broadway Street in downtown Lake Orion.
The accident occurred at about 3:14 a.m., and LOPD Chief Jerry Narsh said ‘we believe alcohol was a factor.?
The man was driving his Ford Explorer ‘at a high rate of speed,? according to Narsh, on northbound M-24, when he left the roadway and veered north onto downtown Broadway, ending up in the parking lot of the American Legion.
The man hit five parked vehicles in the parking lot before coming to a stop. Narsh said police were not sure how fast the man was going at the time of the impact, but that it was ‘force sufficient? to total three of the parked cars and cause damage to the other two.
‘He also hit a pole and a stop sign,? said Narsh. ‘He sent a one-pound clod of dirt flying into a trailer.?
The man was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and had injuries at the scene.
He has not yet been arraigned on the charge, which is his first offense.
‘He was bleeding profusely,? Narsh said. ‘He was transported to St. Joe’s for medical treatment.
‘We’re extremely thankful no one was in the parked vehicles,? he said. ‘With the level of damage, had anyone been in any of those vehicles, they would have been killed.?
Narsh said there were no witnesses to the accident, although a video camera in the parking lot did capture the incident on tape.
‘Someone came by 5-10 minutes later and called it in,? he said. ‘At first the man (who caused the accident) said he was not driving, but he was obviously injured.?
The Burton man had no other passengers in his vehicle.
‘We are very fortunate we aren’t investigating a fatal accident,? Narsh said.
Regarding St. Patrick’s Day weekend overall, Narsh said the calls received by the LOPD were ‘slightly elevated,? including more incidents of people driving while intoxicated.
‘Lately it has been kind of quiet,? he said. ‘But we had an increase in arrests and activity (over the weekend).?