Matthew Hutchison / news@whmi.com

The Michigan Supreme Court says a Livingston County man charged in a 2022 fatal Brighton Township motorcycle crash should be allowed to present evidence that the motorcyclist who died may have had alcohol in his system.

In a ruling issued yesterday, the Court reversed a Michigan Court of Appeals decision and vacated a 53rd District Court order that had excluded blood-alcohol (BAC) evidence in the case against Michael Marc Morgan.

Morgan is charged in 53rd District Court in Howell with moving violation causing death following a May 2022 crash on Kensington Road at I-96.

The crash killed motorcyclist Donald Douglas Arnold.

WHMI previously reported that deputies with the Livingston County Sheriff's Office were dispatched around 5:14 p.m. May 13, 2022, to a vehicle-versus-motorcycle crash in Brighton Township.

The original investigation said a Ford Fusion was traveling southbound on Kensington Road when the driver pulled off the roadway to check directions because Kensington Road was closed north of I-96. The driver then attempted to make a U-turn and collided with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle traveling northbound.

The motorcycle operator was transported to Providence Hospital in Novi, where he later died.

At issue before the Supreme Court was whether Morgan’s defense could introduce evidence of Arnold’s blood alcohol concentration, along with disputed evidence about speed and acceleration.

The district court had allowed evidence about Arnold’s possible speed but excluded the BAC evidence. The Supreme Court said the lower courts considered the evidence too narrowly and said possible intoxication, speed and acceleration should be considered together as potential contributing factors.

The opinion says a toxicology report showed Arnold’s BAC was 0.059 about 75 minutes after the crash. Morgan’s proposed expert said Arnold’s BAC could have been as high as 0.071 to 0.081 at the time of the crash, though the prosecution disputes that estimate.

The Supreme Court stressed the ruling does not decide that Arnold was intoxicated, grossly negligent or responsible for the crash. It also does not decide Morgan’s guilt or innocence.

Instead, the Court said the BAC evidence should not have been excluded and sent the case back to district court for further proceedings.