Beverly Woman Arraigned for Alleged OUI Crash

A Beverly woman who was arrested Friday night for allegedly crashing into another vehicle while driving drunk near the annual Tree Lighting ceremony denied charges in court Monday morning. 

Mary K. Champlain, 46, of 140 Essex St., Beverly, pleaded not guilty Monday in Lynn District Court to a charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

At 7 p.m., a police officer driving near the intersection of Essex and Spring streets reportedly witnessed Champlain's Chrysler Sebring slam into another vehicle that was backing out into the roadway, according to court documents.

At the time of the accident, hundreds of town residents were gathered less than 100-yards away for the Chamber of Commerce's annual tree lighting ceremony.

Officers reported that Champlain appeared heavily intoxicated while being questioning and said she consumed "one glass of wine" before driving.

After reportedly failing a series of field sobriety tests, Champlain was arrested and transported back to the police station, where she reportedly submitted to a breathalyzer test and registered a blood alcohol reading of .22%, which is nearly three times the legal limit.

Judge James Lamothe released Champlain on her own recognizance and ordered that she return to court next month for a pretrial hearing.