BOSTON (WHDH) - A Mass. General Hospital surgeon was arraigned on a drunken driving charge Tuesday in connection with a hit-and-run crash in Boston Friday night that left three pedestrians injured.
Dr. Michael Watkins, 64, of Roxbury, the Boston hospital’s chief of vascular surgery, is accused of hitting the three pedestrians as they were crossing the street in a crosswalk in the area of Columbus Avenue and Clarendon Street just before midnight. The victims said Watkins honked at them before accelerating into them.
The victims, who suffered non-life-threatening leg injuries, were taken to a nearby hospital.
Boston police say Watkins was tracked down on Tremont Street and arrested on three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash with personal injury, and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
He did not answer questions following his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
Prosecutors say Watkins admitted to police that he consumed three drinks prior to the crash at the Strip by Strega restaurant in the Park Plaza.
“He had bloodshot and glassy eyes. They needed to use a firm grip on him when guiding him away from the vehicle,” prosecutor Phoebe Fisher-Groban told the court.
Defense attorney Jack Diamond argued that his client’s breath alcohol level was barely higher than the legal limit.
“It was a 0.11 breath test, so it’s not an egregious number,” Diamond told the court.
In a statement, Mass. General Hospital said it would “follow the matter closely” and “determine what action to take after more information is available.”
Watkins was released on $1,500 cash bail and ordered not to drink alcohol and to stay away from the victims.
He is due back in court in July.
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