Sunday, January 23, 2011

Mr. Plow…that’s my name, that name again is Mr. Plow

I’m sure there can be stories all over the place about the poor job the plow services have been doing during the snow removal around the area.

Even today, going into CoMo, we passed TWO plows out on 63….even though the road is perfectly clean.  Nothing can convince me that they were not out there racking up overtime hours.

Oh Well….no matter how bad they are, could they be as bad as this guy?

January 15, 2011

DA: Plow driver in crash was drunk
5-year-old child in truck when it hit house was not hurt

MIDDLETON — A plow truck driver was drunk when he crashed into a Middleton home with his 5-year-old son in the front seat Thursday afternoon, a prosecutor said during his arraignment yesterday.

Sean Cusack, 44, of 11 Arthur Ave., Hamilton, is now being held without bail, charged with a third offense of drunken driving, as well as two counts of child endangerment.

He'll remain in custody until a hearing next Friday into whether he poses a danger to the public if released, a Salem District Court judge ordered.

Prosecutors say Cusack is a danger to the public and should not be released before trial.

Police were called to a Middleton Housing Authority development on Memorial Drive just after 1 p.m. after someone reported a plow truck had driven into a house.

They found a 2004 Chevy Silverado against one of the buildings, which was damaged by the impact.

Prosecutor Colleen Cashman said police found Cusack in the driver's seat and the child sitting next to him. Neither was injured.

Police immediately noticed an odor of alcohol and said Cusack's eyes were red and glassy.

Cusack admitted to having had three beers but told police he could not perform field sobriety tests because of his physical condition. (Court papers indicate that Cusack weighs 360 pounds, and in court he shook as he labored just to stand up).

He refused to take a Breathalyzer test.

Cusack told police he is diabetic, so they called an ambulance, and emergency medical technicians checked his blood sugar, which was normal.

Police found a nearly empty, 375-milliliter bottle (about 12.5 ounces) of Caldwell's vodka in the truck.

The child was taken by a family friend, and police filed a report of suspected neglect or abuse with the Department of Children and Families.

Cashman said both of Cusack's prior drunken-driving arrests came after crashes.

After his second conviction, he lost his license for two years and was then ordered to install an ignition interlock device that required him to submit a breath sample in order to start his truck.

Cashman pointed to a violation of that condition in 2009, indicated on his driver history.

Cusack's lawyer, Ed Sargent, suggested that without any field sobriety tests or a Breathalyzer, it will be a tough case for prosecutors to prove.

He suggested that his client's red, glassy eyes were the result of having been up plowing for 23 hours straight. The child had been in the truck since about 11 that morning, he said.

Judge Michael Lauranzano said he was particularly concerned about the prior interlock device violation and granted the prosecution's request for a hearing. He ordered that Cusack remain in custody at least until that can take place next Friday.

Cusack was not believed to have been hired by the housing authority but was there instead as a private contractor for one of the residents.

1 comment:

  1. The interlock ignition device,suspended privlege is only a administrative sanction. If people truly want to drive, they will and the only thing that has stopped this drunk driver is putting him in jail, becuase he will not stop drinking and he will continue to drive.

    ReplyDelete

 
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