Firefighter arraigned in fatal crash

FALL RIVER -- A lawyer for the volunteer firefighter from Swansea accused of killing a local police officer in a drunken driving crash acknowledged yesterday that Wayne Smith had three to four beers before the fatal crash and said the accident occurred because his client worked overtime after two hours' sleep.

From his hospital bed yesterday, Smith, 49, pleaded not guilty to operating a vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor so as to endanger, resulting in a homicide, operating negligently as to endanger, and failing to stay within marked lanes.

Smith, who is recovering from injuries he received in the accident Saturday morning, is expected to leave Fall River's Charlton Memorial Hospital in a few days, said his attorney, Jeffrey Entin, after his client's bedside arraignment.

During the arraignment, Assistant Bristol District Attorney John Moses said Smith was drunk when his pickup truck crossed the yellow lines and collided head-on with Swansea Police Lieutenant Robert Cabral's cruiser.

''This defendant displayed obvious signs of intoxication," Moses said. ''He's admitted he was drinking earlier that evening where he attended a fund-raiser, apparently for firefighters in Swansea."

According to police reports, Smith refused a blood test to determine his blood-alcohol level, and he fell asleep while officers questioned him during his booking. Swansea police Officer Joseph A. Martin said that before the crash he observed some members of the Swansea Fire Department at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

''I observed most of these men, including Smith, to be drinking beer," he said in a police report. ''At one point Smith emptied the cooler that was on the ground and announced that there was no more beer."

But Entin said Smith had stayed up late settling an argument between his daughter and her boyfriend before working a nearly 12-hour shift at the Fire Department.

''He had been up for over 24 hours," Entin said. ''He was very, very tired."

''Apparently he fell asleep" while driving, the lawyer said.

Entin acknowledged that Smith attended a turkey raffle, a fund-raiser for fire equipment, and left around 9:30 p.m. From there, Entin said, Smith and some friends went to a nearby restaurant and had a few drinks.

''Witnesses I have been able to talk to were talking about maybe three or four beers drunk in three or four hours before Smith left, which I would presume to the court is not enough to cause any level beyond the legal level of .08," Entin said.

Fall River District Court Judge John Julian ordered Smith held on cash bail of $10,000. Smith, who also works as an ironworker at a foundry in Berkeley, has a violation of leaving the scene of an accident in 2000.

''This is a definite tragedy for the community," said Swansea police Sergeant Richard Curt, a court liaison who witnessed the arraignment. ''We lost a brother, a great guy . . . a father. We'll get through this as a unit."

Cabral's family is preparing for a funeral Thursday morning in the small town where both men -- Smith, a volunteer firefighter for the past 24 years, and Cabral, a police officer with 26 years on the force -- knew each other and worked side by side at times.

According to the police report, it was 12:37 a.m. Saturday when police were called to the scene of an accident on Route 6, where they found Cabral, 52, and Smith trapped in their cars.

Cabral's cruiser had been spun sideways and had extensive damage to the left side and front end.

Megan Tench can be reached at mtench@globe.com.