Medfield One-Car Crash Involves Five Criminal Charges

A Walpole man is facing five charges following an early morning, one-car crash that occurred this past Monday on Main Street in Medfield. One of the charges is a Medfield OUI otherwise known as Medfield DUI or Drunk Driving in Medfield.

The 23-year-old Walpole resident was returning home from UMass Amherst when he apparently lost control of his car. The car traveled across the road, driveway, down an embankment and wound up on its side in the brush. He and his vehicle wound up about 75 feet from the road. Medfield Police received a call reporting a “bad motor vehicle crash” in front of 671 Main Street at 3:38 AM Monday. Medfield Police and Fire units responded to the scene and reported the operator was injured in the accident.

The name of the operator has not been released. He has been charged with leaving the scene of property damage, Massachusetts OUI, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, marked lanes violation and speeding. The operator was not arrested because he was injured in the crash. He was transported to Norwood Hospital at 4 AM.

As a Westwood-Medfield OUI attorney, here is what I know to be true about this case and all Massachusetts OUI charges. Whether you call it Operating Under the Influence – OUI in Massachusetts – or Driving Under the Influence — DUI in Massachusetts or “Massachusetts Drunk Driving” — this is a serious criminal offense in our state. Furthermore, it is a criminal charge that police departments, the Massachusetts State Police and District Attorneys’ offices don’t take lightly. In fact, Massachusetts has very strict drunk driving laws, largely due to the public outrage that has occurred over the carnage and tragedies on the roads that are caused when people drive under the influence of alcohol.

To make its case in a Boston/Medfield DUI, the Commonwealth (through the District Attorney) must prove beyond a reasonable doubt three separate and distinct elements of this offense: In sum, those elements are: Operation of the motor vehicle, on a public way, while under the influence of liquor or with a .08 percent or greater blood alcohol content.

Use your head when driving: Do NOT drink and drive. The legal, personal and professional costs can be far more than you think.