Crime & Safety
Driver Accused of OUI in Head-On Oak Bluffs Crash
His car was found to contain several empty vodka bottles, a full bottle of whiskey and five unopened cans of beer, according to a police report on the July 1 crash. Arrest information does not indicate a conviction.
A 27-year-old Vineyard Haven man was under the influence of alcohol when his Ford Focus crossed the center line on Sea View Avenue and struck a taxi head-on July 1, according to Oak Bluffs police.
Focus driver Nicholas A. Barbera and the cabdriver were both taken to Martha's Vineyard Hospital with minor injuries after the 1 p.m. crash near Hooked restaurant.
Barbera's car was found to contain several empty vodka bottles, a full bottle of whiskey and five unopened cans of beer, wrote Officer James Morse in his report on the incident.
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Before the collision, Barbera's driving was alarming onlookers: A 911 call reported that a silver vehicle had sideswiped a vehicle on Sea View Avenue near the lifeguard stand and almost hit a child, Morse wrote, continuing:
“Within two minutes of the initial call, communications began to dispatch fire and rescue personnel to a two-car crash on Sea View Avenue in the area of Hooked restaurant."
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A second witness, riding a moped, followed Barbera's car after observing the vehicle sideswipe a parked car and narrowly miss a child, Morse added.
The driver of the southbound cab saw Barbera's car on a collision course and took what action he could, according to the police report:
“He observed the Ford Focus traveling north passing vehicles in his lane of travel. He realized that there was going to be a collision and was able to stop his vehicle completely before the collision."
Barbera was unsteady on his feet, had alcohol on his breath and told police he didn't know what had happened, Morse wrote.
Police found the following evidence in Barbera's vehicle, according to Morse's report:
- 5 12 oz cans Coors Light, cold to the touch, sweating
- 3 200 ml bottles of Smirnoff vodka, mostly empty
- 1 200 ml bottle of Jim Beam, cold but unopened
- 5 “nip” bottles of Smirnoff vodka with trace amounts of alcohol
Barbera's July 5 arraignment for operating under the influence has been continued to July 12, according to documents on file at Edgartown District Court.
Arrest information does not indicate convictions. For more police news on and off Martha's Vineyard, please see our Police & Fire news section.
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