Mass. senator: I `panicked' in fleeing accident

BOSTON -- A Massachusetts lawmaker cited for leaving the scene of a weekend crash that injured a man says he "panicked" because of his driving history, which includes two drunken driving convictions and another case in which similar charges were weighed after he was involved in a multiple-car accident.

Police said Tuesday a sport utility vehicle driven by state Sen. Anthony Galluccio rear-ended a minivan in Cambridge late Sunday afternoon. The driver of the vehicle, one of four occupants, was taken to the hospital complaining of neck and back pain, according to the accident report.

Witnesses said the SUV fled the scene through a Harvard University driveway, and police were unable to locate it after witnesses gave them the license plate number and an officer tracked it to Galluccio's home. The officer said he also could not find the vehicle at two other properties and a body shop he checked.

Galluccio, D-Cambridge, said in a statement that he regretted making "a serious error in judgment" when he left the scene.

"When the accident occurred, because of my driving history, I panicked and left the scene. Although I had no reason to believe that there was any injury involved, there is no excuse for leaving the scene of an accident and I deeply regret doing so," he said.

Galluccio said he realized his error on Monday and contacted police, although a department spokesman previously said it was officers who contacted Galluccio -- not the other way around.

"I am in the process of reaching out to the other driver to offer my sincere apology," the senator said. "Clearly, there is an extra burden on me, because of my driving history and because of my position as an elected official, to be careful behind the wheel. It was an accident, followed by an error in judgment, and I offer my sincerest apologies to the driver of the other car and his passengers, and to my constituents."

Police cited him with leaving the scene of an accident causing injury, and leaving the scene of an accident causing property damage.

Galluccio refused to say whether he had been drinking before the latest crash when reporters approached him before Tuesday's Senate session.

Galluccio, 42, is a former Cambridge city councilor and mayor. He won a four-way special election in 2007 to replace former Sen. Jarrett Barrios after he resigned.

Galluccio was convicted of driving under the influence in 1984, when he was 17, and again in 1997. Former Gov. William F. Weld, a Republican, pardoned him for the first offense.

Galluccio again faced accusations of drunken driving in 2006, amid an aborted campaign for Barrios's seat. People who had been in three vehicles allegedly struck by him during a December 2005 chain-reaction crash in Boston's financial district said he was drunk at the time.

A Boston Municipal Court clerk magistrate later convened a hearing where he determined there was evidence Galluccio had been drinking but insufficient evidence to charge him with drunken driving.

Senate President Therese Murray told reporters on Tuesday that "nobody should leave the scene of an accident, especially an elected official."

She said: "We think that public officials should be a little bit beyond what normal people are expected to be, and we think that the senator should -- and I believe he has -- taken responsibility for his actions."

Murray said she would wait until police complete their investigation before deciding whether the Senate should sanction Galluccio.

During the past year, Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, D-Boston, has resigned after being charged with accepting bribes, while Sen. James Marzilli, D-Arlington, has resigned after being charged with making sexual remarks to women on a Lowell street.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)