Weymouth police say they did everything they could to get Edward King off the road.
After he was found “confused and off balance,” stopped for no reason in the middle of traffic with a half-empty bottle of pills on him, according to the police report, King was arrested on a charge of driving while on drugs. His car was impounded, and police asked the Registry of Motor Vehicles to revoke his driver’s license as an “immediate threat” to the public early Saturday morning.
But because the Registry’s office was closed for the weekend, the request wasn’t processed, and King could still legally drive 12 hours later when he picked up his car at a tow lot. Police say King was high on drugs again Sunday morning when he was involved in a crash that left a bicyclist with injuries that eventually proved fatal.
The death of the bicyclist, 53-year-old William Donovan of Braintree, has highlighted a little-known delay in the state’s “immediate threat” license revocation process, which is meant to keep dangerous drivers off the road as soon police decide they are so reckless that they pose a threat to the public. Under procedures in place at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, an immediate-threat request sent in by police at night, over the weekend or during a holiday can sit on a fax machine for days before it is processed.
“The RMV is an administrative agency with standard industry business hours Monday through Friday,” Michael Verseckes, a spokesman for the Registry, said in an email in response to questions about the immediate-threat request against King. Verseckes said the request was processed Monday.
The delay in processing immediate-threat requests seems to be known by few outside of law enforcement. State Sen. Robert Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican who helped craft an overhaul of the state’s drunken-driving laws in 2005, said he was disturbed to learn that King had been allowed to legally drive again only 12 hours after Weymouth police decided he posed an immediate threat to the public. He is now considering legislation that would change how immediate-threat requests are handled.
“If this gap exists in the protocols, it has to change,” he said.
The Registry’s delay in responding to immediate-threat requests is a departure from many other administrative actions that are frequently performed outside business hours in Massachusetts. Police and court officials routinely impound vehicles, issue restraining orders, set bail and suspend licenses at any hour of night.
Hedlund said lawmakers should consider transferring processing of immediate-threat requests to an agency that is open 24 hours a day – such as the State Police – instead of one that closes its doors at 5 p.m. on Friday.
After he was found “confused and off balance,” stopped for no reason in the middle of traffic with a half-empty bottle of pills on him, according to the police report, King was arrested on a charge of driving while on drugs. His car was impounded, and police asked the Registry of Motor Vehicles to revoke his driver’s license as an “immediate threat” to the public early Saturday morning.
But because the Registry’s office was closed for the weekend, the request wasn’t processed, and King could still legally drive 12 hours later when he picked up his car at a tow lot. Police say King was high on drugs again Sunday morning when he was involved in a crash that left a bicyclist with injuries that eventually proved fatal.
The death of the bicyclist, 53-year-old William Donovan of Braintree, has highlighted a little-known delay in the state’s “immediate threat” license revocation process, which is meant to keep dangerous drivers off the road as soon police decide they are so reckless that they pose a threat to the public. Under procedures in place at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, an immediate-threat request sent in by police at night, over the weekend or during a holiday can sit on a fax machine for days before it is processed.
“The RMV is an administrative agency with standard industry business hours Monday through Friday,” Michael Verseckes, a spokesman for the Registry, said in an email in response to questions about the immediate-threat request against King. Verseckes said the request was processed Monday.
The delay in processing immediate-threat requests seems to be known by few outside of law enforcement. State Sen. Robert Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican who helped craft an overhaul of the state’s drunken-driving laws in 2005, said he was disturbed to learn that King had been allowed to legally drive again only 12 hours after Weymouth police decided he posed an immediate threat to the public. He is now considering legislation that would change how immediate-threat requests are handled.
“If this gap exists in the protocols, it has to change,” he said.
The Registry’s delay in responding to immediate-threat requests is a departure from many other administrative actions that are frequently performed outside business hours in Massachusetts. Police and court officials routinely impound vehicles, issue restraining orders, set bail and suspend licenses at any hour of night.
Hedlund said lawmakers should consider transferring processing of immediate-threat requests to an agency that is open 24 hours a day – such as the State Police – instead of one that closes its doors at 5 p.m. on Friday.