Man Faces Charges After Accident

A Concord man and a boy are OK after a truck crash in West Concord on Jan. 6. The man, however, is facing charges related to the crash, according to police.

Patrick Lena, 45, of Concord, was arrested at Concord Hospital and charged with driving while intoxicated and endangering the welfare of a child. He was arrested at the hospital after being treated for injuries related to the accident. A boy who was also in the vehicle was treated at the hospital and released.

Both are physically OK, according to Lt. Timothy O’Malley, the commander of the criminal investigations unit of the department.

O’Malley said Lena was released on bail last night but did not have an arraignment date because reports weren’t available yet.

On Sunday night, Lena was driving a Toyota truck west on Little Pond Road when he missed the hairpin turn and drove into a number of mailboxes, through two driveways, and into some trees.

New signage was installed at the turn a number of years ago to warn drivers on both sides of the road to slow down to 20 mph and prepare for the sharp turn. It is thought to be one of the more dangerous turns in the city, due its near-right angle. Icy driving conditions have caused a number of accidents on the road over the years.

According to press reports, Lena was a member of the Sportsmen for Mitt Romney effort in 2012. His truck sported both Romney and Tea Party bumperstickers.

Lena also made national headlines after being one of two hostage victims to safely escape the hands of Louis Cartier, a troubled dropout who showed up at Concord High School with a shotgun in December 1985.

Lena and a classmate, Scott Mayes, were in a stairwell at the time of the incident but were able to escape from Cartier before he was shot by police. Cartier died at Concord Hospital not long afterwards. Lena later graduated from the school in 1987.

It was Concord’s last school shooting incidents, according to Police Chief John Duval, who mentioned the incident during an interview about school safety issues in the wake of the Newtown CT shootings.