A Dedham man had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit when his pickup truck barreled through a home Sunday night, pinning an elderly woman underneath the vehicle, prosecutors said.
Alexander Mann, 24, was arraigned Monday on charges including OUI, causing serious bodily injury and marked lanes violation, according to Dedham police. He was released on $2,500 bail after a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
The woman in her 70s was visiting a friend on Sprague Street and sitting on a couch watching TV around 8 p.m. when the truck crashed through the home, leaving her trapped underneath the vehicle, Dedham Deputy Fire Chief James Neilan said.
Emergency crews had to get creative as they tried to rescue her without hurting her further.
“There is a vehicle on top of the couch she was on and so we had no way to move the vehicle without harming her, so we had open up the rear of the house to get her out from the back,” Neilan recalled.
Once freed, the woman was loaded into an ambulance and rushed to the hospital with a broken pelvis. Fire officials say she is expected to be OK.
“Everybody remained calm. They did a fantastic job. Did our job and got out of there as quick as we could,” Neilan said.
Mann’s blood-alcohol level was 0.23 percent, prosecutors said in court. Massachusetts’ maximum blood alcohol level is 0.08 percent.
Neighbor Lisa Barone said she was nearly hit by the truck as she drove down the street. While she was driving home, the truck crossed the center line and nearly hit her car before slamming into the house, she said.
“It was directly, almost head-on into my car, I turned around and it was inside the house,” Barone said.
Resident Andrew Czazasty saw the truck and worried about his beloved neighbor’s safety.
“Just the worst thoughts, I mean the woman who lives there, it’s just a great woman who always helps out in the neighborhood here,” he said.
Mann and another occupant inside the truck were able to get out
The truck has since been removed and the house has been boarded.
A judge also suspended Mann’s license until further notice.
The crash remains under investigation.
Mann is due back in court on Jan. 10.
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