Dwayne Antonio Harvey, 59, spent part of his life inside a classroom and part of his evenings behind the wheel. On Sept. 17, those two parts of his life came together in a tragedy that took his life at Eight Mile Road and Coolidge Highway in Oak Park, Michigan. Harvey, a Detroit resident and Oak Park High School teacher, was working as an Uber driver when the crash occurred.
Harvey was driving a Buick Envision when it was struck by a black Dodge Charger traveling east on Eight Mile Road. Police said the Charger driver disregarded the traffic signal at the intersection. The Buick was traveling north on Coolidge Highway and had the right of way. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses supported investigators’ account of how the crash happened.
The collision happened at about 11 p.m. Officers found a 23-year-old rear-seat passenger from the Buick lying in the roadway after he was ejected during the impact. He was conscious and breathing when officers arrived. Emergency crews took him to a local hospital, where he remained in critical condition.
Harvey was not as fortunate. He had to be extricated from the Buick with assistance from the Detroit Fire Department. Oak Park officers treated him before he was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities later confirmed that he had been working an Uber shift at the time.
The crash also left the other driver with minor injuries. Police identified him as Tracy Darwin Sutton, a 19-year-old Detroit man. Sutton was taken into custody after investigators said intoxication was believed to be a factor. His 18-year-old female passenger was not injured.
Sutton appeared in 45B District Court on Sept. 20 and was arraigned on charges of operating while intoxicated causing death and operating while intoxicated causing serious injury. The court set his bond at $2 million cash or surety without a 10% provision. Any release would come with home confinement, GPS and alcohol monitoring, along with a ban on driving.
Harvey’s death has drawn attention beyond the crash itself because of the role he held at Oak Park High School. He was known as “Teach Harvey” and was remembered by city officials as an educator, mentor and role model who helped young people learn and develop. The school community is now dealing with the loss of a teacher whose work reached far beyond a normal classroom day.
Investigators have not closed the case. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is helping with the crash reconstruction, and detectives are continuing to review video and interview witnesses. Sutton’s next scheduled court appearance is Sept. 28.
As officers worked the original crash scene, another vehicle later struck a Berkley police cruiser that had been left unoccupied while officers assisted with the investigation. The officer was not hurt, and the second driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
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