EASTHAMPTON – Police responded to two car crashes on Wednesday night within hours of each other, including one where an intoxicated driver crashed into a police cruiser and caused injuries, according to the Easthampton Police Department.
Officers were driving on Old Springfield Road, an area near Mass Audubon Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, at around 10:40 p.m. to investigate a report of “people drinking and doing drugs near the bridge,” a police report states. According to police, Nicholas Bilger, 24, of Holyoke allegedly crashed head-on into an Easthampton police cruiser with Officer A. Beaulieu, K9 Gino and Special Police Officer K. Moskal inside.
Bilger had been driving away from a party, and the officers, dog, and Bilger all suffered minor injuries in the crash, police said.
The crash activated the police cruiser’s airbags and resulted in “extensive, major damage” to the vehicle, according to police. Photos posted to the Easthampton Police Department’s Facebook page show the police car’s front bumper fell off, and the front end of Bilger’s car was smashed in.
Bilger was bleeding from his neck and back at the crash scene, and police called an ambulance, according to court documents.
Bilger apologized, according to a police report, saying “Sorry for hitting your car but I have to go to work.” When the officer denied that request, Bilger responded, “I had to get out of there, there was a big fight and they wanted to beat me up.” Breath test results found his blood alcohol content was more than double the legal limit, according to a police report.
Bilger was arrested and charged with second offense OUI, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, speeding, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and other charges to which he pleaded not guilty in Northampton District Court on Thursday. His bail was set at $40, and he has since been released.
Earlier in the evening at 5:12 p.m., officers – one of which who was later hit by Bilger – responded to a vehicle that crashed into a utility pole on Clapp Street, a road near Old Springfield Road. A man who identified himself as a passenger in the motor vehicle was standing outside it bleeding, police said.
The man said he and Kayla Graves, 23, of Easthampton, were drinking by the water on Old Springfield Road and that when Graves wanted to leave, he said he didn’t want to drive, according to the police report. He told police Graves drove the car, though she does not have a license, and after the crash, she ran toward Old Springfield Road.
According to a police report, an officer found Graves on Old Springfield Road with red marks on her body – what he suspected were airbag injuries. She tried to “push past” the officer twice, before she allegedly hit him and swore at him, and then police say she punched and kicked an officer.
Graves was arrested and pleaded not guilty in Northampton District Court Thursday to charges of four counts of assault and battery on a police officer, one count of assault and battery on an ambulance crew member, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of a personal injury, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and failure to stay in the right lane. She was released on personal recognizance.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com