Articles Posted in DUI / OUI / Drunk Driving

A few months ago I wrote about a decision the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued which rejected the Registry of Motor Vehicle’s definition of “conviction” with respect to Massachusetts Drunk Driving Laws, as it applied to OUI / DUI convictions and Breathalyzer Test Refusals. Following that decision by the court, the Massachusetts Legislature has now closed that ‘loophole’.

By way of background, in May 2012, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that, under the law at the time, a “conviction” meant only dispositions of criminal charged where an actual determination of guilt was imposed.

The issue arose following the suspension of a person’s driver’s license for 3 years by the Registry of Motor Vehicles because he had previously been convicted of Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol. The driver appealed the 3 year suspension, claiming that his license should only have been suspended for 180 days because in his previous case was Continued Without a Finding – he argued that this was not the equivalent of a ‘conviction’ or guilty finding. He pointed out that, in obtaining a Continuance Without a Finding, he only admitted to ‘sufficient facts for a finding of guilty’, which is not the same as pleading guilty. The Massachusetts Supreme Court agreed, and stated that “If the legislature, in enacting Melanie’s Law, had wanted to include an admission to sufficient facts in the definition of ‘convicted’, it could have done so explicitly.”

The Massachusetts State Police have reportedly increased their Massachusetts Drunk Driving patrols this past weekend, specifically in the area of southeastern Massachusetts Route 24 and Interstate 195.

11 additional Massachusetts State Police patrols will reportedly be used on those roads through the end of September, targeting the weekend hours between Friday and Sunday. To date, at least 10 people have been charged with OUI / DUI, with over 200 others being cited for other motor vehicle violations.

Just this past weekend, a Brockton man was arrested on Massachusetts Drunk Driving Charges when he was allegedly involved in a crash on Route 24 in Freetown. He was charged with DUI / OUI and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle.

A Boston Police Officer has been charged with Massachusetts Drunk Driving Charges after he allegedly crashed into a young woman’s car. The Boston Police Officer was arraigned in late July in the West Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal Court on charges including Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the Boston Police Officer was allegedly driving in Hyde Park at 68 miles per hour when he went through a stop sign and crashed into another vehicle, occupied by a young woman and her friend. Both were reportedly injured in the crash.

The Boston Police Department received a lot of heat for this case because it was reported that, when other Boston Police Officers responded to the scene of the crash, the matter wasn’t investigated as it would have been had the driver not been a policeman. For example, there were allegations against the police department that the officer was not asked to perform any field sobriety tests; nor was he asked to submit to a Breathalyzer Test on scene.

A Norfolk woman was arrested over the weekend on Massachusetts Drunk Driving Law Violations following a multi-car crash in Attleboro. The woman was arraigned on charges of Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle.

According to the district attorney’s office, the Norfolk woman was involved in a 5 car crash that occurred on I-95 in Attleboro. According to police, she submitted to a Breathalyzer Test and reported blew a 0.18%.

The woman reportedly has a history of prior drunk driving charges, including an incident in 2006 when she was charged with Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Personal Injury and Death. In 2009, she was also charged with OUI / DUI and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle after she was allegedly to have hit a snowbank and was found to be passed out in her vehicle, try here for extra info.

A Boston man was arrested and charged with Massachusetts Drunk Driving Crimes after he allegedly rammed his car into a Massachusetts State Trooper’s vehicle.

The man, who is reportedly from Dorchester, was arraigned this morning in Boston Municipal Court for Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the operator of the vehicle slammed into the state trooper’s cruiser, which was stopped at a red light at Tremont and Boylston Streets in downtown Boston. Following the crash, the man allegedly kept driving and didn’t stop until his passenger told him to stop.

As Massachusetts State Police were finishing up with a fatal accident scene on I-93 that claimed the life a young woman, another car crashed into a scene and struck a state police cruiser and a truck and it was immediately right after the crash that the driver contacted a semi truck accident attorney. The driver, Albert Vasquez, has been charged with Massachusetts Drunk Driving Crimes.

Vasquez was arraigned in Woburn District Court earlier this week and charged with OUI / DUI and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle. Following his arraignment, he was held on $10,000 bail.

According to Massachusetts State Police, after two lanes of I-93 were shut down, Vasquez’ vehicle allegedly veered into the cordoned off area where emergency crews were and struck a two truck and then a state police car. He was arrested at the scene for suspicion of operating under the influence of alcohol.

Massachusetts State Police arrested a Bedford man this past weekend on Massachusetts Drunk Driving Charges following a crash on I-93 north that injure four.

According to state police, James Milligan was allegedly driving the wrong way on I-93 north when he allegedly caused a four car crash. He will be summonsed for arraignment to Woburn District Court on charges of Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol, Leaving the Scene of Property Damage, and Leaving the Scene of an Accident after Causing Serious Bodily Injury.

The crime of Leaving the Scene of an Accident After Causing Serious Bodily Injury is a felony that is punishable with imprisonment for not less than 6 months and up to 2 years in the House of Corrections. It punishes those persons who were involved in an accident where personal injury resulted and then left the scene without leaving making their identity, address and registration information known.

The Taunton truck driver who allegedly crashed his truck under a bridge in Fall River last month in an apparent road rage incident is now being charged with Massachusetts Drunk Driving Charges, he will be consulting with a truck accident lawyer to see what his next options are.

The truck driver, who is 42, is facing criminal OUI / DUI charges including Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle. If you have been a victim of a truck accident because of negligent or drunk driving, seek the services of a truck accident attorney to know how you can get compensated for your medical and/or vehicle repair expenses.

Following the crash on Route 79 under the bridge in Fall River, Massachusetts State Police responded and found the man apparently unconscious and hanging over a jersey barrier. His truck was nearby and engulfed in flames.

A Holbrook woman has been arrested on Massachusetts Drunk Driving Charges following a crash in Quincy over the weekend. The driver, who was alleged operating under the influence alcohol at the time, lost control of the vehicle which crashed into a telephone poll.

The driver was arrested and charged with Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol, Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, and was also cited for speeding.

According to the Quincy Police Department, the vehicle was traveling on Franklin Street in Quincy when the driver allegedly lost control in the area of Independence Avenue and struck a utility poll. All four passengers in the car, including the drive, were reportedly taken to local area hospitals to be treated for injuries.

After speaking with an auto accident lawyer, a Plymouth man was arrested by the Hingham Police Department on Massachusetts Drunk Driving Charges after he allegedly crashed his car head-on into an SUV this past weekend.

William E. Vonberg, 41, was charged with Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle.

According the Hingham Police Department, Vonberg was allegedly traveling on Route 228 on Sunday night when he struck another car head-on. The other vehicle, driven by a 59 year old woman from Hingham with a 60 year old Brockton woman in the passenger seat, reportedly needed to be removed from their car with the jaws of life.