Somerville Man Charged With OUI After Hitting Sign, Fleeing: PD

SOMERVILLE, MA — A Somerville man was charged with drunken driving after hitting a sign at the intersection of Holland Street and Broadway and fleeing the scene, police said. Officers at the Somerville police station on Broadway heard a "loud screeching sound and a loud bang" around 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 13, according to police. Police investigated the noise as it got closer and saw a "large cloud of smoke" at the intersection.

A witness told officers a gray Jeep ran over a street sign and drove off toward the Powderhouse rotary, according to the police report. Officers followed tire marks as nearby witnesses directed them to where the Jeep had turned, police said. They found a gray Jeep with two flat tires in the driveway of a home on Teele Avenue.

The homeowner, whose son is the registered owner of the Jeep, spoke with officers and brought his son outside. The Jeep's owner, 36-year-old Shaun Lyons, told officers he did not know what was going on because he had been asleep, according to the police report.

Officers described Lyons's speech as "slurred" and his eyes as "red and glassy," the report stated. He screamed at the officers as they asked him more questions and had a "strong odor" of alcohol coming from him, police said.

Lyons was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of property damage and reckless operation of a motor vehicle. He refused to take a breathalyzer test at the station, according to police.