Man Gets Drunken Driving Charge In Crash, Massive Explosion
MELVINDALE (WWJ/AP) - A 24-year-old man who authorities say took a wrong turn, crashed through a fence and ruptured a natural gas line in metro Detroit is facing a drunken driving charge.
Police in Melvindale say Andrew Gregoire is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in District Court in Allen Park, according to the Detroit News.
The crash on DTE Energy property caused an explosion around 3 a.m. on July 2 that forced the evacuation of residents in an 18 block area near Greenfield and Allen roads, and melted siding off a house.
The towering fireball in Melvindale could be seen for miles in southeastern Michigan and across the Detroit River in Canada.
[PHOTOS+VIDEO: Neighborhood Evacuated Following Massive Gas Line Explosion]
Police believe Gregoire had been drinking at the Hayloft Bar on Greenfield in northwest Detroit before getting into his car that night. He might have even died in the explosion if it weren't for his friend, who was following behind in a second vehicle.
"He could not get out himself, the friend helped him get out of the car," said Melvindale Police Chief Chad Hayse. "The driver did receive some burns getting out of his own vehicle but without his friend helping him, I don't think he would have gotten out. And had his friend taken another five or 10 seconds to do so, I don't think he would have made it."
Gregoire was the only person injured during the incident.
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