Norfolk woman, 22, charged in multicar crash in Attleboro

Woman accused of second offense

A Norfolk woman is facing her second drunken driving charge after allegedly causing a multicar crash on Interstate 95 in Attleboro, State Police said Monday.

State Police said they received several 911 calls for a five-vehicle crash on I-95 northbound just north of Exit 2 in Attleboro around 1 a.m. Sunday. The breakdown lane and two travel lanes of the roadway were shut down, Trooper Todd Nolan said.

After interviewing the drivers involved in the crash, State Police arrested Elizabeth Finnegan, 22, and charged her with operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, marked lane violations, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, Nolan said.

"She was given field sobriety tests on the scene. Afterward, troopers determined that she was [operating under the influence of] liquor,'' he said. "She was taken into custody and transported to State Police barracks in Foxborough.''

Three other people were treated at local hospitals for injuries that were not life-threatening, Nolan said.

Finnegan was arraigned Monday in Attleboro District Court. Her bail was set at $3,000. She was ordered to remain alcohol-free and was forbidden to drive, according to the Bristol district attorney's office.

Finnegan was deemed an "immediate threat'' and her license has been revoked indefinitely, officials said Monday.

In 2009, Finnegan's license was suspended after she was charged in Ashland with drunken driving, being a minor in possession of liquor, and driving to endanger, according to records from the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Three years earlier, Finnegan, then 17, was charged in the hit and run death of Jeffrey W. Cardin, 48, of Wrentham. Cardin was walking on Shears Street around 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2006, when he was struck by a car, the Globe reported at the time. According to news reports at the time, she pleaded guilty and received three years' probation in that case.