Man Charged With Drunk Driving For The 4th Time After Crash With Grandson In The Car
WEYMOUTH (CBS) -- A 55-year-old man was charged with his fourth drunk driving offense after he crashed while his three-year-old grandson was in the backseat. Police said Alan Osgood was so intoxicated he had trouble walking as he was arrested Saturday evening.
Officers initially received a 911 call about an erratic driver around 5:30 p.m. The caller, who turned out to be an off-duty campus police officer, followed Osgood from Nantasket Beach in Hull, through Hingham, and into Weymouth. Osgood then crashed into another car on Bridge Street, a police report said.
The caller told police, "I thought he was going to kill someone he was all over the road" and even took Osgood's keys from him following the crash.
Responding officers came to the conclusion that Osgood was drunk because his speech was slurred, his eyes were glassy, and he had trouble walking, said police.
Osgood initially denied having anything to drink before driving but when an officer pressed him, he responded: "I had one beer at lunch."
When police asked why he was having trouble walking, he said: "Probably because I just woke up."
Eighteen-year-old Riley Pascarelli walked away with just bruises after Osgood allegedly crashed into her car.
"He hit my door, it was really hard. He was going really fast and I was like 'woah.' My door just hit me and I tried to open it and my whole window was shattered," she told WBZ-TV.
"I didn't even know there was a child in the back. That makes me more mad than anything because that child couldn't do anything for himself," Pascarelli added.
She told police after the crash, "she thought Osgood was going to kill someone by the manner in which he was driving...Osgood was unable to maintain any lane control and was swerving and abruptly braking... she was afraid to drive behind Osgood because she thought he was going to crash," according to the police report.
When Pascarelli tried to pass him on the right as he went to make a lefthand turn, he allegedly swerved at the last minute hitting her.
Osgood's grandson was found uninjured in a car seat in the back seat. After the boy's father went to pick the toddler up from South Shore Hospital, he told police he would not have let his father babysit if he knew he was drinking. He said his father had problems with alcohol in the past but thought Osgood had been sober for the past few months.
The incident was reported to the Department of Children and Families.
Osgood was charged with OUI-fourth offense, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and child endangerment while OUI.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges. A judge set bail at $5,000 and Osgood is due back in court next month.
"I just want to say if you have a couple of drinks, please don't go out and drive because it's very dangerous. You're not only putting yourself in danger but you're putting everyone else in danger," Pascarelli said. "I'm lucky I lived that day. Anybody could've gotten hit. I'm glad it wasn't as bad as it could have been."