MASSACHUSETTS VOWS PROBE AS MILTON FIREFIGHTER LIES HURT
As a Milton firefighter fought for his life after being hit allegedly by a man who has been convicted twice of drunken driving, state officials vowed yesterday to discover how the court system failed to alert the Registry of Motor Vehicles to put a restriction on his license. Police said C.W. Tolbert Jr. hit firefighter Antonio Pickens about 11 p.m. Saturday night on Route 138 in Milton as he was helping motorists in an unrelated crash in front of Engine 4 station, where he works.
Pickens, who has a wife and two teenage children, suffered massive injuries and remains in critical condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
On Monday, Tolbert pleaded not guilty to drunken driving, third offense, and two other charges. According to Milton police reports, he was driving a car registered to his girlfriend, with whom he lived in Stoughton.
Tolbert, 46, had been convicted of drunken driving for the second time in South Boston Municipal Court in August 2004, but the Registry did not learn of that conviction until Monday, when the agency pulled his driving record, officials said. One of the provisions of Melanie's Law calls for an ignition interlock device, which prevents a drunk driver from starting a car, to be installed upon the second conviction.
Registrar Anne L. Collins said yesterday that officials have had similar cases . The Registry has no way of knowing how widespread the problem is, she said, but agency officials vowed to work with the courts to improve communication .
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