Norton Repeat Drunk Driver Who Caused Injuries During 2016 Mansfield Hit & Run Sentenced to Prison
Bristol County District Attorney’s Office
Thomas M. Quinn III
District Attorney
Press Release
April 11, 2017
A 53-year-old Norton repeat drunk driver who was involved in a hit and run in Masnfiled last year while intoxicated was sentenced to state prison last week, District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.
Scott Cotterill pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to a multiple-count indictment charging him with Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol-Fifth Offense, leaving the scene of personal injury and operating a motor vehicle after revocation for OUI.
On May 21, 2016 at approximately 6pm, the defendant was driving at a high rate of speed in Masfield and slammed into the rear end of another occupied vehicle. After striking the other car, the defendant pulled away and drove off down a side street. Another driver who witnessed the crash followed the defendant’s vehicle and blocked the defendant in at a nearby parking lot while police came to apprehend the defendant.
Once outside his vehicle, the defendant was unsteady on his feet and his breath smelled of alcohol. The defendant admitted to drinking a pint of vodka before driving and police found a 200 ML bottle of Smirnoff Vodka behind the front driver’s seat that was approximately two-thirds empty. The defendant’s blood alcohol level was recorded at .26%, more than three times the legal limit.
The crash victim suffers from post concussive syndrome as a result of the head injuries caused by the defendant.
During a sentencing hearing held last week, Judge Raffi Yessayan sentenced the defendant to serve two-and-a-half years in state prison, to be followed by three years of supervised probation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Morrissette.
“This defendant was very drunk and wasn’t even supposed to be driving after he had been convicted four times of operating under the influence,” District Attorney Quinn said. “He rear-ended another car and caused ling-term injuries to another individual. The defendant is a danger to the community and needed to be locked up.”
Contact:
Gregg Miliote
Director of Communications
508-997-0711
774-292-9576–cell