Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog
According to a recent news story from the Worcester Telegram, a woman who allegedly has eight previous convictions on her criminal record was just arrested for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs (OUI).
Authorities say the 58-year-old woman called them asking that they remove a man from her apartment. This occurred just after 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Worcester Police officers arrived at her home and alleged they saw the man in question standing outside of her home, while the woman who called them drove away from the home with her dog in the car. The police reportedly stated this man told officers he believed the woman was drunk driving.
At this point, police followed suspect to a market and saw that she had parked her car in such a way that much of the vehicle was still in the active roadway. When the officer approached suspect, she allegedly said she just made herself a drink and was giving off a strong odor of alcoholic beverages. The alcoholic beverage the officer smelled seemed to come for a Styrofoam coffee cup in her vehicle. The officer then asked suspect to blow into a portable breath testing instrument, and she allegedly blew a .224, which is over three times the legal limit of 0.08 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Police also say that when they were conducting a search of the vehicle following suspect’s arrest, they found a partially empty bottle of vodka. It should be noted that defendant has merely been convicted of a crime and has not been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a judge or jury.
Officers also discovered that she allegedly had eight prior drunk driving convictions on her criminal record. While there is nothing strange about a case involving a repeat drunk driver, it is not so common to find a case where a defendant has eight prior convictions. There are a variety of reasons for this. One is that it is generally a felony once you have a certain number of prior convictions. Most people who have been arrested that many times end up in a Massachusetts Correctional Institution. This is especially true if, on one of these occasions, there was a drunk driving car crash resulting in serious injury or death.
When we see a person who has been convicted many times of drunk driving, we are generally not talking a person who drinks socially or occasionally. These individuals tend to have serious problems with alcohol or drugs and drive drunk each and every day at all times during the day. It is not uncommon for people with an alcohol addition to drink as soon as they wake up before getting behind the wheel of a car. These people act with a disregard to the safety of themselves and others on the roads and sidewalks of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and, as a result of this disregard, many drunk driving accidents occur each year.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a Boston drunk driving accident, call for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
9th DUI alleged for Barre woman, October 19, 2015, Worcester Telegram, by Kim Ring
More Blog Entries: Report:
Massachusetts is Mid-Level on Drunk Driving Prevention, June 19, 2015, Boston Drunk Driving Injury Lawyer Blog