Island police yesterday reported a busy but relatively smooth Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The biggest story, of course, was the devastating fire on Main street in Vineyard Haven that destroyed the Cafe Moxie restaurant and caused extensive damage to the landmark Bunch of Grapes bookstore, which cast a pall for many over the usually celebratory Independence Day weekend.
By all accounts the number of visitors was on par with the holiday weekend last year, as were the number of service calls to police. Across the Island, there were an estimated half-dozen moped accidents, about a dozen arrests for operating under the influence and many noise and fireworks complaints.
Oak Bluffs
A West Tisbury man was seriously injured in a moped accident early Thursday morning and was airlifted to a Boston hospital, according to police.
Douglas Reid, 22, crashed into a tree on County Road and was taken to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital before being flown off Island by helicopter to a Boston hospital. The accident reportedly occurred at about 1:20 a.m.; no other vehicles were involved. According to the report, police are continuing their investigation.
Edgartown
A woman driving a Chevy Trailblazer crashed into the back of an Oak Bluffs fire truck on Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road on Friday. The truck was returning from the scene of the fire on Main street in Vineyard Haven.
Traffic was detoured off the busy roadway for about an hour while emergency personnel worked to free the woman from the car and clear the roadway.
A small group of emergency medical technicians could be seen carefully removing the woman from the car and placing her onto a gurney. The woman was conscious but visibly injured. She shouted in pain on several occasions before being placed into an ambulance and transported to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
Edgartown police Lieut. Tony Bettencourt said the woman’s identity and extent of her injuries were unknown. The front end of the Trailblazer suffered heavy damages, while the metal platform on the back of the fire truck was bent downwards.
Just after midnight on Thursday, Edgartown police received a call from Oak Bluffs police about a southbound motorist driving erratically on Beach Road. When Edgartown officers approached the car, they said, they smelled a strong odor of alcohol, and arrested Pennsylvania resident Stephen D. Robinson for suspicion of driving under the influence.
According to Lieutenant Bettencourt, it was Mr. Robinson’s fourth arrest for operating under the influence.
Just after 1 a.m. Saturday, Edgartown police received a call of a fight near the intersection of Main and Church streets. When police arrived, they found a male lying on the ground bleeding. The man was surrounded by a group of onlookers who told police that they were attacked by a group of youths without provocation.
One of the youths reportedly struck the victim in the head and then ran off. The victim was transported by ambulance to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. The alleged attacker was not found and no arrests were made. Police are continuing their investigation, Lieutenant Bettencourt said.
Just after 2 a.m. Sunday, police received a report of an intoxicated male acting strangely on North Water street. When police arrived, they found a male lying down on a park bench in front of the Edgartown public library in a pool of his own vomit. He was taken into protective custody and later released.
Edgartown police on Friday also responded to a moped accident on Beach Road that occurred just before 5 p.m. Two people were injured and were brought to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital by ambulance for treatment.
West Tisbury
West Tisbury police received approximately a dozen fireworks complaints on Thursday and Friday, police chief Beth Toomey said. Police were able to locate some of the people shooting off fireworks and ordered them to stop. Others were never located, the chief said.
“Fireworks complaints are common on the Fourth [of July],” she said. “We do take them seriously and we try to find and stop the people shooting them if they are causing a disturbance.”
Chief Toomey said fireworks complaints rarely result in criminal charges.
Police received a call of a woman threatening to kill herself at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport just after 7 a.m. When police arrived, they learned the woman had been acting strangely and had taken a steak knife into the airport bathroom and refused to come out.
After some negotiations, the woman came out of the bathroom and was transported to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital for treatment.
Just after 1 a.m. Friday, a woman who lives on Great Plains Road called police and reported that an unknown person was tapping on her window. Police were dispatched to the scene but were unable to locate the tapper. Chief Toomey said similar incidents have been reported in the area in the past.
Tisbury
Just after noon on Friday, Tisbury police received a call of a moped accident at the intersection of State and Edgartown-Vineyard Haven roads. Police talked to one eyewitness who confirmed the accident happened, but the people involved had already left the scene.
Just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a noise complaint at 125 Summer street.
According to police chief John Cashin, the responding officers smelled a strong odor of marijuana, and subsequently entered the residence. Inside they found several people sitting on a couch and noticed beer cans and cases piled up in the kitchen. They also found a cup that contained a burnt marijuana cigarette and a green leafy substance.
One of the men on the couch then stood up and grabbed a black duffel bag and started to walk down the stairs. Officers told him to stop but he didn’t listen, and they ended up chasing him outside the house. Police then arrested the man, Korey Sullivan, 32, of Santa Rosa, Calif., on charges of possession of marijuana and resisting arrest.
Two other men, Christopher Jacobson, 20, and Chris Rohrer, 20, also were charged with possession of marijuana.
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