TEWKSBURY, MASS. (WHDH) - A Massachusetts State Police trooper is accused of driving drunk and slamming into another car in Tewksbury Sunday night.
Mary Adenubi is recovering from bumps and bruises after she and her friends were rear-ended while they were stopped at a red light on Route 38.
Police said the driver who hit them was James Doran, a 27-year-old off-duty state trooper.
“It was a hard bang. It kind of pushed me forward. It pushed the car forward and then I had to push on my brake,” Adenubi said.
Adenubi and her friend were treated and released from the hospital overnight.
Doran had just graduated from the State Police Academy earlier this month. He was assigned to Troop C in central Massachusetts and was working with a field training officer.
“It’s shocking. It’s absolutely shocking,” she said. “And this is the person who’s going to help people and be on the roads? It’s unbelievable.”
Neither Doran nor his passenger at the time of the crash were injured.
The trooper pleaded not guilty in court Monday.
He refused a field sobriety test Sunday night. Police said they located an open beer can and half a bottle of vodka inside his Toyota Camry.
According to the Tewksbury police report, “Doran displayed slurred speech and bloodshot and glassy eyes, and was unsteady on his feet, had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person, and admitted to consuming a few alcoholic beverages earlier in the night.”
Doran did not answer his front door Monday afternoon after he appeared in court.
“I see it all the time but I never thought it would happen to me. And, on top of that, with a state trooper, it’s just out of this world,” Adenubi said.
Doran is due back in court in December. In the meantime, he has been ordered by the judge to avoid alcohol until the case is resolved.
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