Woman Linked to Three OUI Crashes Arraigned

A Swampscott woman charged with leaving the scene of three car accidents Tuesday night before being arrested and charged with her second drunken driving offense denied charges in court Thursday morning.

Deborah A. Churchill, 54, of 180 Atlantic Ave., Swampscott, pleaded not guilty in Lynn District Court to charges of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (second offense), negligent operation of a motor vehicle and three counts of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.

At 10:30 p.m., Officer Eric Osattin was among the local officers responding to a report of a hit-and-run accident near the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Rolleston Road when he received an alert about a second crash near the intersection of Commercial and Prospect streets, according to court documents.

When officers arrived at the second accident scene, they reportedly found Churchill's Nissan Maxima "in the middle of the hill on Commercial Street" with both airbags deployed and heavy front end damage.

Black smoke, they reported, was pouring out of the vehicle and Churchill was still driving, "attempting to manipulate the transmission stock to drive the car, but was unable to do so," according to court documents.

Churchill allegedly hit a BMW parked on Commercial Street with such force that "it bounced off an utility pole then was pushed out into the street, causing extensive damage to the rear end, driver's side and passenger side from back to front," according to the accident report.

Once officers convinced her to turn off the vehicle, Churchill reportedly told police that she had drank two beers at a party with friends at the Corinthian Yacht Club.

After piecing together damage from the three accidents, police determined that Churchill had been traveling up Commercial Street when she drove into the 2006 BMW SE 325I and kept going - sideswiping a 2002 Chrysler Voyage Van on the opposite side of the road on her way out, according to court documents.

An officer investigating the previous accident on Atlantic Avenue, which involved a parked 2011 Chevy Equinox, was reportedly able to retrieve a broken headlight that matched one missing from Churchill's car.

Churchill was transported by ambulance to Salem Hospital, where a blood test allegedly showed she was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

She was previously arrested for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol in 2005, according to police.

A judge ordered Churchill released on her own recognizance on the condition that she not drive. She is scheduled to return to court on July 24 for a pretrial hearing.