Wrong-way driver on I-696 arrested for drunk driving after hitting another impaired driver head-on

MADISON HEIGHTS (WWJ) — A Macomb County man is expected to face drunk driving charges after driving the wrong way on I-696 over the weekend, causing a crash with another impaired driver.

It all unfolded around 4:30 a.m. Sunday along I-696 near Dequindre when Michigan State Police began receiving 911 calls about a wrong-way driver, and eventually a crash.

Investigators determined a 40-year-old Eastpointe man was driving a Chrysler 300 eastbound in the westbound lanes of I-696 when he slammed head-on into a Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to MSP.

When troopers spoke with the driver of the Chrysler, they determined he was impaired. He was taken to the hospital for injuries and his blood was drawn to determine his blood alcohol content.

The driver of the Jeep, a 52-year-old man from Huntington, Indiana — about 25 miles southwest of Fort Wayne — was also found to be impaired at the time of the crash, according to MSP.

He was also taken to the hospital and his blood was drawn. No one else was injured in the crash.

MSP First Lt. Mike Shaw said Sunday morning’s arrests were two of 13 impaired drivers that troopers busted across Metro Detroit over the weekend.

“There are so many options available to avoid getting behind the wheel impaired,” Shaw said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Once the blood results have returned from the lab an investigator’s report will be submitted to the prosecutor’s office. Neither driver’s name has been released.