Crime & Safety

Sudbury Resident Cited for 3rd OUI Offense Night of Lavender Incident

Officer on patrol happened to notice one-car accident on Union Avenue during the early morning hours of May 9.

UPDATED: 3:48 P.M.

A officer making her usual patrol through town came upon a one-car accident at about 12:41 a.m. on May 9 that involved the operator of the car driving over the island near Concord Road, striking two signs and colliding with a granite post.

According to Lt. Scott Nix, the female driver, and Sudbury resident, was taken to Emerson Hospital in Concord with non-life-threatening injuries.

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As a result of the investigation, the operator was cited with operating under the influence of alcohol (third offense) and a marked lanes violation.

Chandra Allard of the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission deferred comment on the Lavender incident to local licensing authorities, and would not confirm nor deny if the ABCC was involved in an investigation.

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Nix said an arrest was not made due to a lack of staffing that night.

"An arrest would have reduced staffing further for an unknown amount of time," he explained. "The assessment was made by the supervising officer to take that route due to staffing. It was not a budget issue."

Nix also said the criminal driving history was not known until the accident was cleared.

An officer would have had to accompany the operator to the hospital and stayed there until she was released, Nix said.

Because an arrest wasn't made, the operator's name was not issued.

Nix also said despite inquiries made to the department, a call that night regarding a missing person report did not figure into the decision to not make a formal arrest.

Although the department does not typically release timelines of events, Nix did release a timeline of that accident to help answer questions from Sudbury Patch and the public. The timeline was established by utilizing the State 911 Department's recording equipment:

  • 12:40:53 a.m. — officer on patrol comes upon motor vehicle accident on Union Avenue at Concord Road
  • 12:41:27 a.m. — backup officers start for the accident location
  • 12:42:52 a.m. — supervisor arrives on scene
  • 12:43:20 a.m. — supervisor requests a tow
  • 12:45:30 a.m. — Sudbury Fire A6 requested to respond
  • 12:45:49 a.m. — Sudbury Fire notified via ring down
  • 12:46:09 a.m. — backup officer arrives
  • 12:47:58 a.m. — Sudbury Fire on the air responding to accident
  • 12:50:54 a.m. — Sudbury Fire A6 on scene
  • 12:55:32 a.m. — investigating officer requests hard copy of operator's license via the RMV for further follow-up
  • 1:00:51 a.m. — Sudbury Fire en route to Emerson Hospital
  • 1:14:22 a.m. — initial call received regarding missing person report via business line
  • 1:14:26 a.m. — investigating officer of crash scene advises all units are clear with a report to follow
  • 1:18:42 a.m. — dispatch completed taking initial missing person information via phone
  • 1:18:59 a.m. — officer dispatched to Woodside Road residence regarding missing person
  • 1:21:52 a.m. — supervisor requests availability of vehicle information
  • 1:23:41 a.m. — officer off at missing person residence
  • 1:26:01 a.m. — party returns home
  • 1:31:06 a.m. — supervisor and sector car communication
  • 1:46:55 a.m. — supervisor arrives at Lavender with patrons remaining inside
  • 2:01:57 a.m. — supervisor reports monitoring departure of patrons remaining after hours ... reports no liquor violation observed, only after-hours violation, will be following up with senior management.

A clerk who answered the phone at Framingham District Court did not find any information regarding the OUI.

The Middlesex District Attorney's office told Sudbury Patch a criminal report had not been received as of Tuesday afternoon, and without such a report the office would not have knowledge of the person's name.


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