WORCESTER, Mass. — A local bartender charged with driving drunk when she hit and killed a 70-year-old pedestrian in Worcester was arraigned on Thursday.
Rebecca Brooks, 37, of Northbridge, was charged with motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence of alcohol and failure to slow.
Worcester police said Brooks blew a 0.231% Blood Alcohol Content reading at the scene Wednesday night - nearly triple the legal limit.
"During the investigation, Rebecca was observed to have glassy/bloodshot eyes, a very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her breath and incoherent speech," the police report states.
The victim's son identified him as Ted Raptis. Raptis lived just feet away from where he was hit.
"He was our rock, a family man," Erik Raptis said.
Brooks, a mother of two and a bartender in Northbridge, had been drinking after finishing her shift and before getting behind the wheel, according to a witness's statement in the police report.
"A witness reported that Rebecca had consumed at least 2 (16-oz.) beers and 2 shots of Fireball prior to operating a motor vehicle," the document reads.
Brooks's defense attorney, Robert Iacovelli, admitted in Worcester District Court Thursday that his client had hit the victim, but he disputed the police report.
"The way it reads is there was an odor of alcohol coming from her person," Iacovelli said. "I didn't see anything in there, 'from her breath'. She works as a bartender. She worked that day."
Iacovelli asked the judge to set her bail at $2,500 with the condition that she wear a GPS monitor if she were released. He argued that Brooks has long been a law-abiding resident o Northbridge, where she went to school and her children currently do.
The judge, however, set Brooks's bail at $10,000, ordering her not to drive upon release while the case is pending.
The judge set a pretrial conference for Brooks to appear by video conference on April 20.