WESTFIELD – A city woman narrowly escaped jail time for driving under the influence, a second offense, this time with her child in the car.
Ashley R. Gignac, 25, was sentenced to nine months in the House of Correction suspended with probation till March 22, 2018, after pleading guilty to operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor second offense and a marked lanes violation.
If the defendant violates any conditions of her probation, she would be required to serve the nine months in the House of Correction.
She had charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle and child endangerment with OUI dismissed.
At approximately 11:30 p.m. Sunday night, December 21, 2014, Westfield Police Officer Brendan Irujo was dispatched to Little River Road at Pontoosic Road for a single vehicle accident.
He found a brown Ford Explorer on Little River Road “perpendicular to the road, blocking both lanes of travel,” according to court logs.
“The vehicle had extensive front end and side damage,” Irujo wrote in his report. “It was evident that the vehicle had exceeded the posted speed limit prior to the crash.”
After observing that the driver, Gignac, smelled of alcoholic beverages, had bloodshot, glassy eyes and slurred speech, Irujo administered standardized field sobriety tests, which the defendant failed.
Gignac’s 4-year-old daughter, who was in the back seat of the vehicle, suffered minor injuries.
Irujo found that Gignac had been charged with driving under the influence on January 16, 2007, shortly after the defendant’s 17th birthday. That charge was continued without finding on January 23, 2008.
Therefore, this time Gignac was charged with OUI subsequent offense.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
