Man held on fourth DUI charge

July 4, 2009

A Brookline man was held on $50,000 cash bail Wednesday after he was arraigned on his fourth drunken driving charge, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said Daniel Dennis Jr., 45, was charged in Boston Municipal Court with operating under the influence, failing to stop for police, driving an unregistered vehicle, and operating with a revoked license. A Boston police officer in a cruiser saw Dennis allegedly run a red light at Clarendon Street and Columbus Avenue shortly after 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to police reports.

A motorist was injured when his car collided with a fire truck at the intersection of Morton and West Selden streets in Mattapan last night, Fire Department spokesman Steve McDonald said. The driver of the car, an unidentified male, was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital with non life-threatening injuries after the 9:45 p.m. accident, he said. Two firefighters were also taken to the hospital to be checked out, according to McDonald.

The historic town church struck by lightning this week will hold services at 9 a.m. tomorrow on its front lawn. “We invite all the community and firefighters to join us,’’ said Pastor Carl Schultz. Lightning struck the steeple of Medway Community Church early Thursday morning, and its wooden spire was engulfed in flames. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze before it spread to the rest of the church. The 120-foot wooden spire was splintered into large pieces. No one was inside the church, built in 1814, when lightning struck.

New Bedford is celebrating more than just Independence Day as the city welcomes the full-time opening of the Ocean Explorium. More than a decade in the making, the aquarium and ocean science center overcame major financial hurdles and finally opened to the public last year - but on Saturdays only. As of today, it will be open seven days a week. The Explorium features a computerized image of Earth in 3-D and a living coral reef exhibit that highlights issues of coral bleaching and global warming. (AP)

Two Spencer lifeguards pulled a 16-year-old from Lake Whittemore yesterday, after the victim’s 13-year-old brother alerted the guards he was missing on the lake at Luther Hill Park. James Earl, 20, and Kyle Stearns, 19, both of Spencer, retrieved the teenager 50 feet from shore, where he was submerged in 10 feet of water. The guards were performing CPR when emergency personnel and Spencer police arrived at about 2 p.m., said police Sergeant John M. Agnew. The victim was transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center. Officials would not comment on the victim’s condition.

A new report says Maine is still the fattest state in New England. The nonprofit Trust for America’s Health released its annual “F as in Fat’’ report this week ranking states in terms of obesity rates. According to the report, about 25 percent of Mainers are clinically obese, up from 24 percent in last year’s report. Maine had the highest obesity rate in New England but was 35th nationally. (AP)

A reputed mobster accused of trying to arrange a hit on a rival has been moved from prison to a hospital and his lawyer says he is seriously ill. A lawyer for Anthony “The Saint’’ St. Laurent Sr. filed court papers Wednesday seeking to postpone his court case. The motion says St. Laurent is in a Massachusetts hospital and in “no position, physically or mentally, to have a legal discussion with counsel.’’ St. Laurent, an alleged member of the Patriarca crime family, is accused of offering to pay to have a rival, Robert DeLuca, killed. (AP)