HOPKINTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A Hopkinton man was arrested and charged Thursday after he allegedly hit two homes with a van while drunk, officials said.
Hopkinton Police Chief Joseph Bennett and Fire Chief Gary Daugherty in a joint statement said the incident happened near the intersection of Grove Street and Pleasant Street in Hopkinton shortly before 3 p.m.
Police soon responded and arrested Stephen Murphy, 52, close to the scene, according to Bennett and Daugherty.
“I just thought it was an accident,” said homeowner Bonnie Clarkin, who was still in Maine Thursday afternoon. “…I had my mother look out the window and she said ‘Oh no, it’s more than that.”
SKY7-HD captured the aftermath of the crash, with damage visible on the side of one of the two homes that was struck.
At ground level, tire tracks showed the path Murphy’s van allegedly took, almost hitting a pole before driving over a curb and onto Clarkin’s front yard.
Clarkin said Murphy clipped the corner of her house and then sailed directly into her neighbor’s windows.
“After he hit the house, I heard he had backed up and took off down the road,” Clarkin said.
Murphy was charged with operating under the influence of liquor (second offense) and driving to endanger. He was also charged with two counts of leaving the scene of a property damage crash.
While there were no reported injuries, officials said one of the homes that was hit “suffered significant damage to a load-bearing wall.”
Fire crews worked to stabilize the home on Thursday afternoon and were continuing efforts as of Thursday night ahead of expected snowfall over the weekend, officials said.
Officials said one family was displaced as a result of this incident, adding that the family will be staying with other family members.
Speaking with 7NEWS, Clarkin said she often wondered when an incident like this would happen.
“It’s just such a bad corner and the way people fly up and down the road, it just, to me, was a matter of time,” she said.
“I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner,” she continued, before referencing her neighbors. “I’m just thankful they weren’t home.”
Murphy is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday in Framingham District Court.
Thursday’s incident drew an emergency response from neighboring communities including Westborough.
Authorities at one point also said Grove Street was shut down between its intersections with Hayden Rowe Street and Pleasant Street due to “fire department activities” while their response continued.
Grove Street had reopened as of Thursday night and the home with significant damage was boarded up.
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