Cape Wide News for Saturday August 11th, 2012

Two-vehicle crash in Sandwich


SANDWICH -  One person was taken to a hospital following a two-vehicle crash in Sandwich Saturday evening.

The crash happened about 7:30 p.m. at the intersection of Tupper Road and Freezer Road.

A Chrysler Pacifica and a Subaru Legacy Outback wagon collided.

The driver of the Subaru was transported to a hospital. Several other people were treated and released at the scene.

Sandwich Police are investigating the crash.
Photos and video by CWN associate Andrew Jones


Arrest for 5th OUI offense
DENNIS - At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon, Dennis Police responded to a local auto repair shop for a report of an intoxicated driver who brought his vehicle in to be serviced. 
 
Upon their arrival, Officer Elizabeth Tucker and Officer James Winn spoke with the driver and identified him as Kenneth Pinsonneault, 54, of South Dennis.  Pinsonneault told the officers he drove his vehicle to the repair shop for an oil change. 
 
During their encounter with Pinsonneault the officers observed obvious signs of alcohol intoxication and asked him to perform field sobriety tests. Pinsonneault was subsequently arrested for OUI Liquor as a 5th Offense.
 
Pinsonneault was transported to the Dennis Police Department where he was booked and held on $1,000 cash bail pending his arraignment on Monday morning at the Orleans District Court.
Media release provided by Dennis Police Department

EAST DENNIS – What started as a quick trip from Sesuit Harbor to the lobster grounds off Corporation Beach in Dennis turned into high adventure for four young people Friday evening as their 17-foot Bayliner’s battery died at the height of the stormy weather.

 

They left Sesuit Harbor to check their lobster pots and, hopefully, come home with dinner. But it didn’t work out as planned. The skipper of the Bayliner, Pete, reported he had the safety-clip kill switch attached to his person and at some point it popped out and killed the engine. He tried restarting the engine but the battery wasn’t up to the task. He immediately threw out an anchor and, in the face of increasing winds and rain, dove off the boat with rope in hand and swam to a nearby lobster pot to tie off a second line.

 

Meanwhile, back at Sesuit Harbor, the mother of one of the boaters reported the boat missing and public safety personnel began a rescue effort. The Dennis Fire Department dispatched a crew to Marine 119 at Sesuit Harbor. The Dennis Harbormaster cast off in his vessel and Dennis Police Patrol Officer Craig Stevenson responded to the harbor to meet with the mother. She told him that they were very likely off Corporation Beach and Officer Stevenson deployed to that location.

 

On the boat, Pete, Mackenzie, Michael and Kathy were “constantly pumping” as the rain poured into the small boat. At one point, they report, a combination of driving rain and heavy fog reduced visibility to 10 feet. They huddled in the boat and “waited and prayed.”

 

Pete recounts he retrieved a “maglight” flashlight from his tackle box and started shining it on the side of the boat, figuring it would draw more attention than pointing the light towards shore. He was right. Officer Stevenson saw the rescue signal from the Corporation Beach breakwater and vectored the Dennis Fire and harbormaster boats to the location.

 

“We were pretty happy when we saw the lights,” says one young woman. “We were all screaming.”

 

DFD Marine 119 (top photo at right) pulled up along side and picked up the crew for a quick trip back to Sesuit Harbor while Dennis Harbormaster Terry Clen towed the Bayliner back to port.

 

The crew was reunited with their vessel around 10:30 p.m. when the harbormaster delivered the boat to the east side of the harbor. In the bottom photo at right, an assistant harbormaster frees the boat from the tow.

 

The mother of one of the young people credited Officer Stevenson (pictured above with the crew) with hastening the speed of the rescue. “If it wasn’t for him, they’d still be out there,” she said.

For more storm team coverage click here
Story and photos by Kevin Morley/CWN