Judge sets $1.25 million bail in crash that killed five people

TOLEDO (AP) — Bail was set at $1.25 million Wednesday for a man accused of driving the wrong way on a divided highway while drunk and causing a wreck that killed a woman and four children.

Michael Gagnon, 24, is charged with five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide in the Sunday night crash on Interstate 280.

Police said tests showed Gagnon, of Adrian, Mich., had a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit when his pickup truck smashed into a minivan filled with eight people returning to Maryland from a holiday trip to Michigan.

Municipal Court Judge Michael Goulding, who set the bail amount, said a public defender would be appointed for Gagnon, who told the judge he was a self-employed construction worker.

Members of Gagnon’s family filled the first two rows of the courtroom during Wednesday’s brief hearing.

Lawyer Rick Sanders, representing the family, described Gagnon as distraught. “He couldn’t believe this had happened,” Sanders said.

Sanders said Gagnon’s relatives wanted to say that their thoughts and prayers were with the victims of the crash and their family.

“They don’t know what happened,” Sanders said. “They’re understandably upset. They’re good people.”

Gagnon’s driver’s license has been suspended multiple times after he failed to provide proof of insurance or registration, and he has had two speeding tickets since 2002, according to the Michigan secretary of state’s office.

Police identified the victims as Bethany Griffin, 36; Vadi Griffin, 2 months; Lacie Burkman, 7; and Haley Burkman, 10, all from Parkville, Md.; and Jordan Griffin, 10, of Redford Township, Mich.

On Wednesday, the van’s driver, Danny Griffin Jr., 36, was released from a hospital, and his daughter Sydney Griffin, 8, was upgraded to serious condition. Beu Burkman, 8, was previously released.