Nephew, uncle facing OUI, drug charges after truck crashes into Wilmington home
WILMINGTON -- Two men have been charged after allegedly crashing their truck into a home and then driving away from the scene.
Police said the crash happened around 5:30 Thursday afternoon. The two men were driving a blue truck when it crashed into the home on Shawsheen Avenue.
The truck tore through a screened-in porch and damaged two cars parked in the driveway. Police said the family was home at the time and sitting just feet away in the room next to the porch.
Home security footage from across the street shows the truck speeding down the street. You can hear the tires screech before the impact just out of frame.
Police charged 31-year-old Timothy Fortin of Holyoke with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Fortin is also charged with leaving the scene of property damage and possession of drugs.
Police said Fortin was driving the truck when it crashed.
In the car with him, police said, was his 54-year-old uncle Robert Dupont of Wilmington. Police charged Dupont with two counts of drug possession.
Court documents show Dupont and Fortin were caught by police shortly after they left the scene. The responding police officer stated both men had glossy and bloodshot eyes and had slurred speech.
Police also stated Fortin was seen discarding a white substance on the ground and underneath the truck and tried to hide it inside the vehicle.
Police said Fortin had cuts and scrapes to his hands and face while Dupont was covered in blood due to a cut on his head.
Both men were taken to the hospital where police said blood work showed Fortin had been driving over the legal blood alcohol limit and had cocaine and fentanyl in his system.
Neighbors in the area said this is not the first time this has happened here.
"That fence has been taken out a few times but not in that location and certainly never have they hit the house," said Susan Tingdahl. "Obviously if they drove away, they were trying to hide something. They shouldn't have been behind the wheel in the first place. They could've hurt somebody. I mean they have a new baby in that house and it's angering that someone could do that and then take off."
Fortin and Dupont were released on bail and ordered to stay away from the home. Both men have court dates on September 30.
A building inspector determined the home was structurally safe for the family to be able to stay there.