MILTON, Mass. -- A Stoughton man pleaded not guilty Monday to drunken driving charges for allegedly hitting and critically injuring a Milton firefighter.
John "C.W." Tolbert, 46, was arrested late Saturday after he struck Antonio Pickens, 44, as the firefighter walked across Blue Hill Avenue to help with a minor car accident near the fire station. Pickens was listed in critical condition Monday at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston after receiving injuries to his head and body.
Police said it was Tolbert's third drunken driving offense. Tolbert was ordered held on $7,500 cash bail following his arraignment in Quincy District Court.
Pickens, a father of two, has been a Milton firefighter since 1995. Two firefighters who were walking with Pickens said they saw him get hit and tumble over the car, landing in the center lane of the road.
Tolbert was charged with drunken driving, causing serious bodily injury and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. He faces a mandatory minimum of six months in prison if convicted on his third drunken driving charge and a maximum of 10 years on the three charges in the accident.
He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on July 20.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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