SCHOOLCRAFT TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Newly obtain documents reveal St. Joseph County Sheriff Mark Lillywhite told police he was not driving the night he was arrested for driving while intoxicated after a crash in Schoolcraft Township, despite witnesses identifying him as the sole occupant of the vehicle.
Police reports, obtained by FOX 17 through a Freedom of Information Act request, from the crash that happened in the early morning hours of February 26 describe Lillywhite as being extremely intoxicated and incoherent.
According to the reports, Sheriff Lillywhite was driving on US-131 near West YZ Avenue just before 2:30 a.m. when he rear-ended the vehicle in front of him, causing it to veer off the road and roll several times. The report states Lillywhite’s vehicle, which belonged to the sheriff’s office, drove off the road and into a ditch.
A trooper at the scene reported Lillywhite was “extremely intoxicated and denied being the driver” of the car but would not give them the name of anyone else who may have been in the vehicle.
Three witnesses all identified Lillywhite as the sole occupant of the vehicle.
Officials who responded to the scene say Lillywhite was visibly intoxicated, reporting slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and the smell of intoxicants.
According to the original incident report, MSP troopers were asked by Kalamazoo County deputies to take over the investigation on scene due to a potential conflict of interest as they both knew Lillywhite, and he was the sheriff in St. Joseph County.
When troopers approached Sheriff Lillywhite’s vehicle, he was in the front passenger seat. Troopers noted Lillywhite struggled to exit the vehicle and stated, “a majority of his statements were incoherent.”
When troopers asked if there were any weapons in the vehicle, Lillywhite responded that there were three firearms inside. Troopers found one in the center console and two in the trunk and seized all three.
The reports list South Kalamazoo County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Shawn Westfall as the first emergency personnel member on the scene. According to the report, “Westfall stated he drove up to Lillywhite’s vehicle first and observed Lillywhite in the driver’s seat. Westfall then watched Lillywhite crawl across the center console to the front passenger seat and remain there until [troopers'] arrival on scene.”
One of the witnesses at the scene told investigators it appeared that Lillywhite was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown into the back of the vehicle during the crash. The witness told police as they were checking on Lillywhite, he started climbing back into the front seat of the vehicle and repeatedly stated, “I know I’m in trouble.”
An inspection of Lillywhite’s vehicle confirmed the front driver and passenger seatbelts were not in use at the time of the crash. The inspection also showed he was going 99 mph at the time of the crash. According to a sergeant who was called to investigate, the speedometer of Lillywhite’s vehicle stuck at 100 mph.
Witnesses told troopers headlights on the Sheriff's vehicle were not on. The people inside the other involved car said they never knew Lillywhite's SUV was approaching them from behind.
Only minor injuries were reported in the crash.
Dash camera and body camera video previously obtained by FOX 17 show exactly what happened after the two-car crash.
“I got both of these guys in my vehicle. The other driver is way down there in the ditch,” said one of the officers in the dash cam video.
“They said the other guy, their daughter, went to check on him. That's who owns the white car. Said he couldn’t even stand up and talk. Obviously, appears he was intoxicated,” said one witness.
St. Joseph County administrator Teresa Doehring previously released this statement to FOX 17 regarding Lillywhite’s arrest:
“The county has been advised about Sheriff Lillywhite's arrest and we understand that the matter is being investigated by the Michigan State Police. We cannot comment further at this time due to the pending investigation.”
Lillywhite was taken into custody that night but was released later that day.
No charges have been filed in the case yet.
