Mugshot of Aaron Obrien. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. CROIX — A man who was reportedly found to be driving an unregistered vehicle following an auto collision is charged with negligent driving.
According to court documents, just before 3:00 p.m. on Monday, August 7, police were dispatched to the Queen Mary Highway in Estate Barren Spot to investigate a collision between a truck and an SUV.
Responding officers made contact with the driver of a blue Ford Escape, who said that she was traveling eastward on the highway when she saw a black Ford F150 coming towards her on her side of the road. The woman told police that she applied her brakes and also pulled as far to the left as she could, but that was not enough to avoid the F150, which collided with her Escape.
Police then spoke to the driver of the truck, Aaron Obrien, 34, who told them he had nothing to say. Officers say they smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from Obrien, and noticed that his eyes were red and glassy. However, he denied consuming any strong drinks, before reportedly asking the officer if he could “smell the dog in the yard.”
Obrien declined to perform any of the three standardized field sobriety tests, even after being warned that a failure to attempt the tests would be construed as a failure of the tests themselves. He also declined to submit to a chemical analysis of his blood alcohol content, and was arrested for driving under the influence of an intoxicating liquor. He provided a Florida driver’s license to police, and a check with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles indicated that the Ford F150 was unregistered.
He was therefore charged with operating an unregistered vehicle and negligent driving, in addition to the DUI. Adam Obrien appeared in court on Wednesday, where Magistrate Ernest Morris set conditions of release that included a cash payment of $100. Other details of bail and bond conditions have not yet been uploaded to the court’s public information website.
