Hingham Woman Accused of Drunk Driving for Fourth Time

A Hingham woman was arrested Monday afternoon for operating under the influence of alcohol for the fourth time.

Hingham Police arrested Joan M. McArdle, age 54 of 47 East Street  at the intersection of Central Street and Emerald Street where she was found in her vehicle stopped in the middle of the road with the keys in the ignition.

When Hingham officer John Walden found her in the running vehicle, he noted her eyes were red, glassy and bloodshot, and  she smelt of alcohol. When she was questioned by police, Officer Walden noticed her speech was slow and slurred and when asked if she was drinking, McArdle admitted to having a glass of wine. 

Police also noted that McArdle was too unsteady on her feet to continue with field sobriety tests before she was arrested.  Officer Walden even had to guide her to the rear of her vehicle by holding her upper arm, the police report stated.

No one was reported injured from McArdle’s driving on Monday but Hingham Police Sgt. Steven Dearth  did note that McArdle could have caused danger to a residential neighborhood.

“It’s important to note, that this was in a thickly settled residential neighborhood where officers saw children riding bikes and playing in nearby driveways and pedestrians were in the area,”  Dearth said in an email.

McArdle was later released by the clerk magistrate after posting $40 bail and she was arraigned in court yesterday.

This is McArdle’s fourth OUI charge and will be considered a felony charge. Her prior OUI's were in Dorchester in 1997, Brookline in 1983 and Whitman in1983, police said.

For a 4th or subsequent offense refusal, the administrative penalty is a lifetime loss of license.