Driver first convicted of OUI in 1962 was drunk and drugged when he hit South Boston girl, DA says

Richard Higgins, 78, of Attleboro, was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing following a weekend incident in which he allegedly sent a 12-year-old girl flying into the air on Old Colony Avenue while under the influence of both alcohol and a narcotic, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

The girl is at Tufts Medical Center recovering from her injuries in the Saturday crash.

Higgins was arraigned today with a record that includes four OUI convictions dating to 1962. A South Boston Municipal Court judge agreed with prosecutors to hold him until at least a hearing on Thursday to determine whether he is an immediate menace to society and so should continue locked up until at least the outcome of his trial on the latest offense.

According to the DA's office:

Higgins was observed by witnesses driving approximately 60 miles per hour in a stretch with a posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour when he lost control of his SUV and struck a parked vehicle. The impact of the crash caused the front axle of Higgins’ vehicle to break and the front right wheel to strike another parked vehicle. He then struck a third vehicle and accelerated, allegedly striking the victim in a crosswalk. The SUV continued traveling another 50 feet before it struck a fourth vehicle. Higgins’ vehicle finally came to a stop approximately 500 yards from the location of the final collision, prosecutors said.

Witnesses told police that they observed Higgins tossing beverage cans over a fence prior to the arrival of officers.

Police spoke with Higgins and detected an odor of alcohol coming from his person. He appeared to be unsteady and have glassy, bloodshot eyes, prosecutors said. He allegedly made statements admitting to consuming alcohol and Vicodin earlier in the day, and to discarding beer cans from his vehicle before officers arrived.

Innocent, etc.