Police: Man 'huffing' narrowly misses MDOT workers before crashing on I-496
Ken PalmerDELTA TWP. - Police said they believe a man whose vehicle crashed into trees along Interstate 496 in a work zone had been "huffing" propellants from an aerosol can prior to the crash.
The driver was eastbound on the freeway about 12:50 p.m. when his car crossed the median, passed between two Michigan Department of Transportation trucks parked in the westbound lanes and rolled into a wooded area, the Eaton County Sheriff's Office said.
The man was not injured. But officials said they believe he was under the influence of "duster" at the time of the crash. He was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, they said.
"This crash highlights the dangers of huffing," Sheriff Tom Reich said in a news release. "The driver, other motorists and the MDOT workers are lucky not to have been injured in this dangerous incident."
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The accident remains under investigation, and the driver's name and age were not immediately released. It was not immediately clear how many MDOT workers were working in the area at the time.
Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.