A 26-year-old Westland man is facing years in prison after allegedly crashing his vehicle into the back of a semi-truck on Interstate 94 while drunk and killing the three passengers in his car.
Hilton Dorian Yopp III was arraigned on Tuesday, July 7, in front of 19th District Court Judge Sam Salamey on three counts of operating while intoxicated causing death and three counts of reckless driving causing death. Both charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a press release.
Michigan State Police investigators said a semi-truck was stopped in traffic on the eastbound I-94 freeway near Wyoming Avenue in Dearborn at around 11:44 p.m., July 3, when Yopp’s vehicle struck it from behind at a high rate of speed.
Upon arrival at the scene, troopers found Yopp’s three passengers − Myles Bland, 27, of Dearborn and Jailyn Riley and Alexandria Boynton, both 24 and of Detroit − in and around the vehicle, all deceased.
Medics arrived on the scene and transported Yopp and the semi-truck driver to a local hospital for treatment.
Yopp was allegedly “intoxicated and driving recklessly at a high rate of speed” when the crash happened, Worthy said in the release.
Yopp was granted a $200,000/10% bond with a GPS tether and ordered not to drive or consume alcohol.
A preliminary examination is set for July 22.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Westland man charged in I-94 crash that killed three
Reporting by Susan Bromley, Hometownlife.com / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Susan Bromley, Hometownlife.com | USA TODAY Network
