New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
A Massachusetts State Trooper yesterday arrested a drunk driver who was traveling at speeds of up to 105 mph in a construction zone on Interstate 91 in Whately where the speed limit is 45 mph.
Trooper Michael Tucker, assigned to the State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section, was on patrol on I-91 southbound when the Northampton Barracks advised patrols of a black pickup truck being operated erratically and at a high rate of speed.
Trooper Tucker began seeking the suspect vehicle, a 2005 Ford pickup with a Massachusetts registration, and soon made visual contact. He observed the driver change lanes without signaling and nearly cause a collision with a box truck. The pickup then accelerated to 105 mph in the posted 45 mph construction zone.
The suspect vehicle eventually slowed in traffic in Northampton and Trooper Tucker caught up to it and conducted a motor vehicle stop. Upon reaching the driver’s door, Trooper Tucker observed that the driver was wearing no clothes and had placed a pair of work pants over his lap. The trooper observed strong indicators of alcohol intoxication on the driver and observed an empty bottle in the bed of the truck.
The trooper requested that the operator put his pants on. He then requested license and registration. The driver was able to produce his license but could not find the registration. The driver was identified as ALEXANDER SHANWENDA, 24, of Chicopee.
Trooper Tucker was backed up by Trooper Peter McMahon of the Northampton Barracks. The troopers administered several field sobriety tests to SHANWENDA, who failed all of them. Troopers placed SHANWENDA under arrest and transported him to State Police-Northampton, where he was booked for the following offenses:
Operating under the influence of liquor;
Operating to endanger;
Marked lanes violation; and
Speeding in a Construction Zone.
During an inventory of the pickup, troopers located two six-bottle packs of beer that contained five full bottles and three empty bottles, with the other four bottles missing.
Following SHANWENDA’s arrest, a district court bail clerk set bail at personal recognizance plus the $40 bail fee. He will be arraigned on the charges in the Holyoke District Court.
