The News Room [News Release]
Sheriff Contact: John Roach: 313-213-5162
Release Date: Thursday, May 6, 2004
Alert Sheriff’s Deputy nabs drunken driver who hit two
Inkster children and fled
INKSTER, Michigan – A Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputy
stopped and apprehended a 22 year old Wayne resident who, moments
before, allegedly hit and injured a seven year old Inkster boy
and his 14-year old sister, according to Sheriff Warren Evans.
Matthew Van Ooyen, who has had three previous drunken driving
convictions and was driving with a suspended license, had been
drinking and driving at the time of his arrest. After the arrest,
Van Ooyen was turned over to Inkster Police, Evans said.
Deputy Christopher Ceane was traveling on southbound Middlebelt
near Cherry Hill at approximately 4:00 PM on Wednesday when he
noticed a vehicle with significant damage pull onto Middlebelt
and drive erratically. Being suspicious, the officer attempted
to pull the car over, but the driver kept going. A couple of
blocks later, at the intersection of Cherry Hill and Middlebelt,
Van Ooyen rear-ended another vehicle, causing minor damage.
Ceane ran Van Ooyen’s license plate and discovered that
the Inkster Police has issued a Be On the Lookout notice for a
vehicle matching the description of the suspect’s car in
connection with a hit-and-run involving two children at Harrison
and Somerset in Inkster.
“Officer Ceane followed the first rule of police work: be
observant,” said Evans. “Thanks to his alertness, he
helped take a ticking time bomb off the streets.”
According to witnesses, Van Ooyen was traveling at a high rate
of speed through the subdivision and hit the kids, who were on
a bicycle at the time. The boy suffered a bumped head and a fat
lip, while his sister received minor injuries to her left leg.
Evans said that taking people like Van Ooyen off the street has
been a high priority for him as Sheriff. Last October, he created
the Last Call unit, whose sole purpose is to track down and arrest
repeat drunken drivers who fail to show for court. Since that time
the unit has arrested nearly 500 offenders.
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