After a high-speed chase on Interstate 93 South, Frank S. Ceccaroni Jr., 47, from Holliston, is being held without bail. It will be decided if he is a danger to the public in hearing on Monday. In the Woburn District Court, Judge Paul Yee charged Ceccaroni with his sixth offense for driving under the influence of liquor, receiving a stolen vehicle, receiving stolen property, four counts of refusing to stop for police, driving to endanger, driving with a suspended license due to previous drunk driving charges, driving an unregistered car and driving an uninsured car. In addition to these charges, he was cited for attaching plates, speeding and for violating marked lanes.
At 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday morning, State Trooper Peter Stanley pulled over Ceccaroni in a construction zone for swerving between lanes and for almost hitting another vehicle on I-93 South in Stoneham. According to Stanley, Ceccaroni was showing signs of intoxication. The trooper then ran the license plate number and found that the plate belonged to a Dodge Caravan. Stanley noticed the vehicle´s brake lights going on and off while he was checking his license information and Ceccaroni then drove off extremely fast. He reportedly almost hit the road workers and police officers who were directing traffic through the construction zone. According to Middlesex assistant district attorney Amanda Rowan, as he drove off, he was “exceeding speeds of more than 130 mph.”
A high-speed chase ensued and ended in Medford when Cecceroni crashed the vehicle into a trailer truck and was subsequently dragged underneath the trailer truck for a short distance before the truck driver was able to stop. The rescue team had to remove the roof off of the vehicle to extricate Cecceroni. The truck driver was not injured. Rowan commented: “Fortunately this ended with no one, other than the defendant, suffering any injuries…It was an extremely dangerous event.”
State police later confirmed that the car he was driving, a red 2005 Infiniti, was stolen on June 1 from Mass Auto Exchange in Framingham. Police also confirmed that the license plate was stolen from a green Dodge Caravan that was parked at Massachusetts General Hospital when the plates were stolen.
In his arraignment on Wednesday, Rowan asked the judge to hold Ceccaroni as a danger to the public. Lisa Kavanaugh, Ceccaroni’s lawyer, pleaded not guilty on his behalf and asked that the judge send Ceccaroni to Bridgewater State Hospital for evaluation and alcohol abuse treatment. She cited the Commonwealth´s general laws, Section 35 in Chapter 123, in which the definition of an alcoholic is one who has lost control and their livelihood due to their dependency.
Judge Yee instead ordered that Ceccaroni be held without bail at Middlesx Jail in Cambridge until his hearing on Monday. Our office has handled numerous cases where an individual is injured as a result of a police chase. Often times an innocent bystander can sustain the most significant injuries. If one is injured as a result of a police chase many of the same benefits that they are ordinarily entitled to remain, but depending on the circumstances the possibility exists for a potential uninsured motorist claim or an underinsured motorist claim. Some factors that will influence what type of claim can be brought are whether the vehicle involved in the chase was stolen, whether the vehicle was insured at the time of the chase, what type of automobile you or someone in your household had at the time of the accident.
If you have been involved in a road accident, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced Massachusetts car accident lawyer as soon as possible.
Sources:
I-93 chase ends in crash, OUI arrest, The Boston Globe, June 9, 2011
Holliston man charged with Framingham car theft, drunken driving, The Milford Daily News, June 9, 2011
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Driver Crashes, Seriously Injures a Bystander
If you have been injured on the road, an experienced Massachusetts accident lawyer can advise you.