An arraignment was held today for the man police say was intoxicated when he crashed into another car in Oceola Township, killing five people.

21-year-old Matthew Jordan Carrier of Fenton openly cried as he was arraigned via video link this morning on 19 counts, including five counts each of second-degree murder and operating while intoxicated causing death. He was ordered held without bond and faces life in prison if convicted. The charges arise out of a traffic crash at M-59 and Argentine Road on May 9th that resulted in the deaths of five individuals and serious injury to two others.

Investigators say Carrier ignored a stop sign as he traveled south on Argentine Road and smashed into a vehicle as it traveled eastbound on M-59. Two people in Carrier's car died. Three people in the other vehicle died, including a probation agent who had been honored at a Corrections Department banquet earlier that night. Livingston County Prosecutor Bill Vailliencourt says that under Michigan law, second degree murder applies to circumstances where someone commits an act with a high probability that it will result in death and does so in obvious disregard for human life.

Vailliencourt said Carrier's blood-alcohol level was "well in excess" of the limit for driving, although the exact level was not disclosed.

Carrier was arrested by police without incident and remains lodged in the Livingston County Jail. A July 26th probable cause hearing was scheduled as well as an August 2nd preliminary exam. (JK)