Massachusetts woman arrested after crash with injuries, punching firefighter

TEWKSBURY — Chief Ryan Columbus reports that the Tewksbury Police Department charged a Marlborough woman with third-offense drunk driving charges. 

On Thursday, at just before 6:30 p.m., Tewksbury Police responded to a report of a crash in the area of 10 Clark Road. 

Officers arrived to find a Honda CRV that had struck a tree and a fence. The driver, identified as 58-year-old Susan Kapopoulos, was not wearing a seatbelt and was initially unconscious. Officers could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from Kapopoulos. Kapopoulos eventually regained consciousness and punched a firefighter at the scene. 

At this time police learned there was a second vehicle involved in the crash about 500 feet away. An on-scene investigation determined that the vehicle driven by Kapopoulos struck that vehicle, as well as a tree and a fence further down the street. A passenger in that vehicle suffered injuries.

Police located two open bottles of alcohol in Kapopoulos’ vehicle. 

Kapopoulos was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries. 

She was charged with Operating Under the Influence of Liquor (Third Offense), Marked Lanes Violation, Open Container of Alcohol in a Motor Vehicle, Speeding, Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Failure to Wear Seatbelt, Leaving the Scene of Personal Injury, Leaving the Scene of Property Damage, Assault and Battery on Ambulance Personnel, and Possession of a Class B Substance.

Kapopoulos was arraigned Friday in Lowell District Court and released on her own recognizance on the condition she abstain from drugs or alcohol.