Shawn Oliver was arrested after a late-night crash on Dartmouth Street in New Bedford, where officers say an overturned car struck multiple parked vehicles and left two cars with extensive damage. He was later taken to St. Luke’s for treatment of injuries and then placed under arrest on a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol.
The case matters now because Oliver is not just any driver. He is a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor and a New Bedford City Councilor, and the arrest immediately put a statewide campaign under scrutiny. Five cars were involved in the crash, and Oliver also faced charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding and a marked lanes violation.
Oliver said he was in a crash on Dartmouth Street. Paul Heroux said he was booked at around 6:45 a.m. and held at Ash Street Jail before exiting just after 9 a.m. on Sunday carrying his belongings in a plastic bag and walking away in a plain white T-shirt. That image is a sharp one for a candidate who had been on the road for campaign events and was in Newton on Saturday to speak with a conservative influencer and podcast host, according to his Facebook.
The political damage may prove harder to contain than the crash itself. Mike Minogue said the campaign was still learning what happened, hoped no one was hurt and said Oliver would need to take responsibility if the allegations proved true. He also said driving under the influence is not acceptable. Amy Carnevale said the Massachusetts Republican Party had just learned of the accident involving Oliver and was awaiting more information.
There is still a larger question that has not been answered: what caused the crash in the first place, and whether anyone else was injured. That uncertainty hangs over a candidate who had become the GOP’s lieutenant governor nominee after Brian Shortsleeve’s defeat in the primary and after Oliver was tapped as Minogue’s running mate. For now, the facts that matter are enough: a campaign figure was arrested, the car crash damaged multiple vehicles, and the party he represents is left to explain what comes next.
