Sisters Face Charges in Bout With Each Other, Samaritan

The Detroit News December 27, 2006

by Mike Martindale

HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP -- It had the makings of a heart-warming holiday tale: Two women in distress. A good Samaritan. Two well-meaning deputies.

But in the end it lacked one key element: A happy ending of Christmas cheer.

A 25-year-old Farmington woman and her 24-year-old sister are in the Oakland County Jail, facing charges after an incident Monday night in which they allegedly had a drunken argument and fistfight before wandering off on foot into traffic and attacking deputies and a citizen who stopped to help them.

Deputies say the older sister steered the good Samaritan's truck into a ditch, then pummeled him so severely that he required medical attention.

"It's sad that on a day when many are observing good will towards each other, these two women chose to dive headfirst into a bottle and then take on anyone who tried to help them," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. "It's fortunate no one was killed."

Bouchard said events began about 7:45 p.m. after an uncle of the sisters apparently became fed up with their drunken behavior and ordered them out of his car. Deputies were called to Hickory Ridge Road and M-59 on a report of a woman wandering in and out of traffic.

They found the 24-year-old woman standing along the road, and she told them she had been in a fist fight with her sister. When they attempted to escort her to a patrol car, she became uncooperative and attempted to spit at deputies, they said.

About the same time, a short distance away, deputies were also notified of an injury accident on John Street, where a pickup was found in a ditch. The driver, a 55-year-old township resident, said he had picked up a woman who was trying to flag down vehicles on Hickory Ridge Road and M-59.

The man offered to take to her to the Sheriff's substation, and as they drove toward the office, the woman began punching the man and grabbed the steering wheel, sending the truck crashing into a ditch, police said.

The driver was treated at Huron Valley Hospital.

The case has been forwarded to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.

You can reach Mike Martindale at (248) 647-7226 or mmartindale@detnews.com.