PLAINWELL, MI – A Plainwell man told an Allegan County sheriff's deputy he was behind the wheel and taking drinks from a liquor bottle before a crash Saturday that killed his 23-month-old daughter, according to court documents.

A preliminary breath test that was administered at the scene of the 12:55 p.m. crash on 10th Street north of Baseline Road showed Chadwick M. Solheid, 42, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent, Deputy Morgan Sullivan testified Sunday before Allegan County District Judge Joseph Skocelas.

“Upon making contact with Mr. Solheid ... I immediately noted a strong odor of intoxicants emitting from his person,” Sullivan said.

After hearing Sullivan’s brief testimony, Skocelas issued an arrest warrant charging Solheid with one count of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death.

Sheriff’s deputies said Solheid’s daughter, Londyn, died Sunday evening at Bronson Methodist Hospital from injuries suffered in the crash.

Solheid was driving a 2004 Buick Rendezvous south on 10th Street when he crossed the centerline and struck a tree in a ditch on the east side of the road, according to the sheriff's office. He was not hurt in the crash.

Sullivan told Skocelas that Solheid initially denied having consumed any alcohol prior to the crash, telling the deputy that a medical condition prevented him from doing so.

At the scene, Solheid consented to a preliminary breath test, which showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.08 percent, the level at which a driver is considered intoxicated under Michigan law.

Sullivan said that after he made Solheid aware of the PBT result, he asked Solheid again if he had consumed any alcohol prior to the crash.

“He replied that he believed he had one or two beers that morning of the accident,” Sullivan testified, according to a transcript of the court hearing obtained by the Kalamazoo Gazette.

Sullivan questioned Solheid further after witnesses at the scene told the deputy they believed they saw a liquor bottle in Solheid’s vehicle and that after the crash Solheid “appeared to be throwing something out into a field area.”

“I then asked Mr. Solheid about the liquor bottle, to which he stated he did have a liquor bottle in the car,” Sullivan testified. “He then walked me to the location he threw it, and the liquor bottle was found near the scene of the traffic crash.”

Sullivan took Solheid to the Allegan County Jail and then to Allegan General Hospital to have his blood drawn after obtaining a search warrant from a judge.

The deputy said he interviewed Solheid after they returned to the county jail and that Solheid agreed to speak with him after being read his Miranda rights.

Sullivan testified that Solheid told him he left his house at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday after retrieving a bottle of alcohol “from an area nearby his residence.”

“He stated he then began to drink from that bottle, while he and his daughter were driving into town and that a short time later he crashed his car,” Sullivan said. “He did indicate that initially he was scared, and that’s why he threw the bottle shortly after the traffic crash.”

Solheid was arraigned Monday in district court on the charge of OWI causing death, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Solheid was ordered held on a $15,000 bond following his arraignment.

Rex Hall Jr. is a public safety reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. You can reach him at rhall2@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter.