The Republican nominee for Massachusetts lieutenant governor faced a judge Monday on an OUI charge stemming from a multi-car crash over the weekend.

 

Shawn Oliver, 42, appeared in New Bedford District Court, where he pleaded not guilty to operating under the influence, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding.

 

Oliver, the GOP candidate for state lieutenant governor, suspended his campaign shortly after his arrest. He still serves as a member of the New Bedford City Council.

 

Officers responded to the scene on Dartmouth Street around 11:40 p.m. Saturday. There, police said they found Oliver’s black SUV flipped over on its roof in the middle of the road. Officers also saw two other cars with extensive damage. One had been pushed over the curb, across the sidewalk and into the grass, while the other was pushed backward into another parked vehicle.

 

Police said Oliver was sitting in a lawn chair brought out for him by a neighbor, bleeding from a laceration on his head.

 

A witness told police Oliver’s black SUV had been stopped in the northbound lane at a red light before reversing. According to police, the witness said the vehicle then accelerated through the intersection once the light turned green, began drifting right and abruptly veered left to avoid striking a curb.

 

Police said the witness saw Oliver’s SUV cross over into the southbound lane and hit multiple cars parked along the curb after speeding through the intersection of Dartmouth Street and Rockdale Avenue. At that point, the SUV flipped upside down.

 

At the hospital, Oliver allegedly admitted to consuming “at least two” alcoholic drinks earlier that night. Police said he smelled like alcohol and described his eyes as “bloodshot and glassy.”

 

Oliver was released on personal recognizance and is temporarily prohibited from driving. He is due back in court next month.

 

See more at wpri.com.