Metro Detroit mother seeks justice for son killed in wrong-way crash
HAZEL PARK, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – A Hazel Park woman is demanding answers after her son was killed by a drunk driver in a wrong-way crash last year.
The person responsible has still not been held accountable by authorities.
"He was such a jokester. He was so charming and witty," said Kim Clanton.
As days and weeks go by, Clanton keeps her son's legacy alive.
"He was full of laughs. His smile was everything," she said.
On Aug. 26, 2023, Clanton received a knock on her door from the police. At that moment, time stood still.
"'I'm sorry ma'am, but he was involved in a car accident, and he didn't make it.' And it just went silent from there," she recalled.
Clanton's son, Drasan Clanton Jr., was driving southbound on Interstate 75 near Clark Avenue when he was struck head-on by a drunk driver heading northbound in his lane.
Drasan, who was 26 years old, died in the crash.
"We knew that the drunk driver was not picked up, he wasn't arrested, he wasn't in custody, and we couldn't understand that like my boy is gone, and he's like wrecked all of this havoc," Clanton said.
Her family has reached out to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office every week for the past year with constant questions, but no answers.
"It feels like torture every day," she said.
CBS News Detroit contacted the prosecutor's office, which said the case is under review and that they cannot comment at this time.
"I want justice for my son. Justice for Drasan. I don't want anybody to ever have to go through. I can't describe what I and my family have gone through to have such a loss, and I just want justice for him," Clanton said.
Clanton said that just before interviewing with CBS News Detroit's Alysia Burgio, she finally received a call from the prosecutor's office telling her they assigned someone to the case.
In the meantime, Clanton is holding a vigil in honor of her son on Monday, August 26 at Felker Park at 7 p.m. That is the one-year anniversary of Drasan's death.
