5 teens injured in drunk-driving crash after using fake IDs at bar, Michigan cops say

Five teenagers were injured when two of their pickup trucks crashed as they left a bar where they were drinking, Michigan police say.

The crash in Berlin Township involving 18- and 19-year-old drivers occurred “in the early morning hours” on Saturday, Dec. 17, according to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff said the drivers were both intoxicated, as were the four passengers in the trucks. They used fake IDs at an unspecified bar, where they were served alcohol, the sheriff’s office said in a Dec. 19 news release.

When they left, one of the drivers attempted to pass the other, but the vehicles collided. The crash sent both trucks off the road, causing them to roll multiple times, according to the sheriff.

Three of the teenagers were thrown from the trucks, and five were hospitalized.

Deputies found one of the teens pinned under the truck, but officials said he only suffered minor injuries. Another teen was found unconscious and has been on a ventilator at a hospital, the sheriff said.

The driver that caused the crash was charged with operating while intoxicated causing serious injury, and the other driver was charged with operating while intoxicated, the news release states.

The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office said the crash occurred one day after its Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign began. The campaign continues through Jan. 1 and is designed to “reduce fatalities and serious injuries caused by an impaired driver.”

St. Clair County is a northeast suburb of Detroit.

This story was originally published December 20, 2022 at 12:09 PM with the headline "5 teens injured in drunk-driving crash after using fake IDs at bar, Michigan cops say."