A Massachusetts State Police trooper was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after a car crash Sunday night in Tewksbury, according to court documents filed by police.
James Doran was taken into custody after the 11:12 p.m. report of the crash at Main and Clark streets, which sent two people to the hospital to be evaluated, according to a Tewksbury police report filed in Lowell District Court. The two people who were hurt said they were rear-ended at a stop light; the impact of the crash was hard enough to deploy air bags and cause heavy damage to the front of the trooper's personal car.
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Officers at the scene found Doran and another man outside their vehicle appearing unsteady on their feet, slurring their speech and smelling of alcohol, according to the report, while inside the vehicle was an open can of Bud Light and a half-empty vodka bottle.
The man with Doran initially said he was driving, but investigators found his phone on the floor of the passenger's seat, and damage on that side of the vehicle was consistent with his injuries; pressed about who was driving, he said Doran, according to the report.
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Doran told an officer he'd been driving the passenger home and was trying to turn right on Clark Road at the time of the crash, police said. Doran also said he'd drank a couple of alcoholic beverages hours before, but didn't consent to field sobriety tests or Breathalyzer test.
Both Doran and his passenger declined to go to the hospital, police said.
After being arraigned Monday morning on charges of operating under the influence and having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, Doran was released on personal recognizance, but his driver's license was seized and his vehicle towed. He's due back in court Dec. 6 for a pretrial hearing.
NBC10 Boston reached out to Doran and his attorney for comment, as well as to Massachusetts State Police.
Doran was part of the most recent class of Massachusetts Police Academy graduates, sworn in to the department weeks ago.
