A Westland man is behind bars, accused of causing a grisly crash that claimed three people who were in his car.
Hilton Dorian Yopp III, 26, was arraigned Tuesday on three counts each of operating while intoxicated causing death and reckless driving causing death, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced in a press release.
At about 11:50 p.m. Friday, July 3, Michigan State Police were dispatched to the eastbound lanes of Interstate 94, near Wyoming Avenue in Dearborn, for a crash involving a car and a semitractor-trailer, Worthy said.
At the scene, troopers found the three victims in and around Yopp’s car. The suspect and the driver of the tractor-trailer were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The victims were identified as Myles Bland, 27, of Dearborn, and Jailyn Riley, 24, and Alexandria Boynton, 24, both of Detroit.
Authorities allege that Yopp was intoxicated while recklessly speeding on the highway when his car struck the rear of the tractor-trailer.
Yopp’s attorney, Carla Marable, described her client as a “really good kid” with a job, a college education and no prior criminal record.
“He is devastated by this,” Marable said. “He didn’t want this to happen.”
In court Tuesday, 19th District Court Judge Sam Salamey set Yopp’s bond at $20,000. He remains behind bars as of Wednesday, according to Wayne County Jail online records. If he posts bond, he will be required to wear a GPS tether and he may not drive or consume alcohol.
A probable cause conference is slated for 8:30 a.m. July 15.
Each of the six counts against Yopp is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The incident is the latest fatal crash involving allegations of drunken driving to make headlines in Metro Detroit.
A Detroit man was recently charged with murder and OWI in a June 28 crash that killed two pedestrians in west Detroit.
A Virginia man faces four counts of murder in an alleged drunken driving crash in Oakland County that killed two young siblings and their parents.
In late June, a Macomb Township man was sentenced to 10-50 years in prison after being convicted of murder in a 2024 Shelby Township crash that killed a 26-year-old man.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Westland man charged in alleged OWI crash that claimed three on I-94
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Max Reinhart, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
