(WWJ) A Livingston County man is facing drunken driving and murder charges after it's alleged he caused a crash that killed two people on a scooter in Detroit.
Mitchell J. Dukes, 33, of Hamburg, was scheduled to be arraigned in 36th District Court Friday in connection with the deaths of Nakia Marie Payton, 39, and Daniel Damon Mixon, 49, of Detroit.
According to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Dukes was under the influence of alcohol, early in the morning of July 31, when he drove in the wrong direction on I-96.
Just after 2:30 a.m., it's alleged that Dukes was headed westbound in the eastbound lanes of the freeway, near Wyoming, when he crashed into a motor scooter driven by Mixon, with Payton riding on the back.
Payton was killed on impact, according to Michigan State Police, and Mixon was taken to a hospital where he later died.
Dukes was arrested by MSP troopers at the scene, treated for minor injuries, and booked at the Detroit Detention Center.
Related
On Aug. 2, a warrant request was submitted to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. It was returned to MSP for further investigation, which was recently received, prosecutors said.
On Wednesday, Dukes was charged with two counts of Second Degree Murder, and two counts of Operating Under the Influence (OWI) Causing Death.
“I feel like a broken record when I say that crimes involving speeding cars, wrong way drivers, drag racing, drunken driving, and an outright disregard for the rules of the road are 60% higher than they were pre pandemic,” said Prosecutor Kym Worthy, in a statement.
She added: "Yet again, the lives of cherished community members have been lost forever. The charges today are no consolation for their friends and loved ones, but we will fight to ensure that justice is done.”