Freetown crash leads to injures, list of charges, including 4th Operating Under the Influence

A local man is facing a list of charges after a crash in Freetown

According to Lieutenant Benjamin Levesque, on Thursday, at approximately 6:30 p.m., the Freetown Communications Center received multiple 911 calls reporting a single-vehicle crash into a telephone pole on Chace Road in the area of Bullock Road and Slab Bridge Road. Freetown Police and Fire personnel responded to the scene.

Upon arrival, first responders located a man outside of the crashed vehicle. Witnesses who remained on scene, including an off-duty Freetown Police officer, reported that the individual had allegedly been attempting to pay passing motorists for a ride away from the area and expressed concern that the operator appeared to be intoxicated.

Officers identified the operator as 37-year-old Robert Barnes of East Freetown. While speaking with Barnes, officers reported observing signs consistent with impairment, including an odor of alcoholic beverage. Barnes stated he had been using his cell phone at the time of the crash.

Based on their on-scene investigation, officers believe that Barnes had been traveling southbound on Slab Bridge Road before turning left onto Chace Road, where his vehicle struck a telephone pole. The crash caused substantial damage to the vehicle, and the pole is expected to require replacement.

Barnes, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, was placed under arrest and transported by Freetown Fire-Rescue to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford for evaluation and treatment of injuries believed to be non-life-threatening and consistent with a motor vehicle crash.

Barnes was charged with Operating Under the Influence of Liquor, 4th or Subsequent Offense, Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Operating Under the Influence of Liquor While License Suspended for OUI, Marked Lanes Violation, Use of an Electronic Device While Operating a Motor Vehicle, 1st Offense, Failure to Wear a Seatbelt, and Wanton Destruction of Property Under $1,200.

Following his release from the hospital, Barnes was transported to the Ash Street House of Correction.

In an update, court records show that at arraignment, Barnes pled not guilty and was being held on $100,000 bond or $10,000 cash bail with a pretrial hearing scheduled for May 20th.