April 30--A Lawrence man police said was drunk at the wheel of an SUV is accused of plowing through a state police sobriety checkpoint yesterday, doubling back at more than 100 mph as the troopers in his path opened fire in a futile attempt to stop him, then led officers on a two-mile chase before crashing into a cruiser.
Ottoniel Herrera, 32, was expected to be arraigned today in Lawrence District Court on a laundry list of charges including drunken driving, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, speeding and failure to stop for both police and a red light.
A trooper whose hand was hit by Herrera's 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee was treated at Lawrence General Hospital and released following the 2:15 a.m. melee, said state police spokesman David Procopio.
"Herrera's actions -- from driving drunk to trying to run down a trooper to fleeing at a high rate of speed -- reveal an utter disregard for the law and for the safety of innocent citizens in cars and homes around him," Procopio said.
Meanwhile, "The question of how many troopers fired and how many rounds were discharged remains under investigation," he said.
"Preliminary investigation, however, clearly indicates that the troopers fired in a belief that their lives and the lives of others were in danger."
Procopio said troopers initially pulled Herrera over at a sobriety checkpoint on Wolcott Street in Lawrence after seeing another man hop out up the road.
Herrera, he said, "suddenly and forcefully accelerated" down a dead-end street before circling around and charging the troopers head-on. Herrera managed to flee from Route 28 to Interstate 495 to Sutton Street in North Andover before he was arrested.
The Jeep sustained gunfire, however Herrera was not hit, Procopio said.
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