Oct. 23--HYANNIS -- A 5-year-old Dennis boy was injured and his father charged with drunken driving after allegedly crashing into the back of a Hyannis Fire Department ambulance Friday night.
Kevin Curran, 38, of Dennis is facing numerous charges, including child endangerment, following the rear-end collision between the car he was driving and a Hyannis Fire Department ambulance around 10:30 p.m. Friday, said Barnstable Police.
Curran allegedly hit the back of the ambulance twice. After the second hit the car was attached to the rear bumper of the ambulance, said Barnstable Sgt. Seam Sweeney.
The injuries to the boy were not life-threatening and no injuries to the rescue workers were reported, Sweeney said.
Curran was not reported to be injured in the accident, but he was described by the investigating officer as extremely unsteady on his feet, glassy-eyed, smelling of alcohol and wearing a white dress shirt backwards when police arrived at the scene, said Sgt. Sean Sweeney.
According to a report by Officer Mark Butler, the ambulance crew was turning from Route 28 onto Lincoln Road Extension in response to an emergency call when the collision occurred. Emergency lights on the ambulance were flashing at the time of the collision, police said.
EMTs in the ambulance immediately began to attend to Curran and his son, who was in the back seat of the car. The boy was in a child seat, but was not wearing a safety belt, police said. An initial report of the accident stated there 75 feet of skid marks on Route 28 leading to the site of the collision.
The child was taken to the Cape Cod Hospital emergency room where the Department of Child and Family Services was contacted. No further information on whether the child was released to a family member or taken into foster care was available.
Curran was taking to the police station where police said he was booked and personal possessions inventoried. Included among these was an orange pill, identified as Suboxone, in a small plastic bag. A website operated by Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare, manufactures of Suboxone describe it as a narcotic medication used for opioid dependence, available only by prescription.
After he was booked, police offered Curran the use of a telephone. Police said he seemed unable to use the telephone and threatened to hit officers with the phone when they tried to walk him back to a holding cell. During the process an officer noticed what appeared to be a needle mark and blood on Curran's arm, Sweeney said. Curran became abusive and more aggressive after being asked about possible intravenous drug use and had to be restrained, according to Sweeney.
Police said that other than telling the first officer on the scene that his son was in the back seat of the car, Curran made no further reference to his son, nor did he ask any questions about his whereabouts.
He was released from the station the following day.
Curran is scheduled to be arraigned in Barnstable District Court Monday on charges of drunken driving, child endangerment under the influence of alcohol, operating to endanger, failure to secure a child 5- or under in a car seat, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, driving an uninspected motor vehicle and possession of a class B substance -- Suboxone.
