Man facing drunken driving charges after plowing over Nantucket landmark in hit-and-run crash

NANTUCKET, Mass. — A man is facing drunken driving charges after police say he plowed over and destroyed a Nantucket landmark with his pickup truck in a hit-and-run crash late Sunday night.

Michael K. Holdgate, 55, was arrested on charges of operating under the influence of liquor, second offense, and negligent operation of a motor vehicle in a crash around 10:30 p.m. that leveled Nantucket’s Main Street fountain, according to a criminal complaint.

Surveillance video shared by Fisher Real Estate showed the moment Holdgate’s white Chevrolet Silverado smashed head-on into the fountain at a high rate of speed, reducing it to a pile of shattered debris.

Officers investigating the crash later found Holdgate driving a Dodge Promaster van in the area of 8 Vesper Lane, where he allegedly “accelerated unsafely” into a driveway that was occupied by three marked cruisers, the complaint indicated.

Pickup truck destroys Nantucket landmark in hit-and-run crash (Fisher Real Estate)

“The vehicle was operating in an unsafe, negligent manner. A reasonable person would have slowed down turning into a driveway that had three marked police vehicles in it,” police wrote in the complaint. “The operator stepped out and identified himself as Michael K. Holdgate, owner of both the van and truck from the crash.”

While speaking with officers, police said Holdgate smelled of alcohol, slurred his words, and exhibited a “shortened” memory span.

“We often had to remind him of what we were doing,” police wrote of their encounter with Holdgate. “His eyes were glassy as well.”

A subsequent breath test showed that Holdgate had a blood alcohol content of 0.148, which is nearly double the legal limit, according to police.

This is the second time in four years that the fountain has been hit, the Nantucket Current reported.

The foundation was anonymously donated in 1885 and is dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant Max Wagner, according to the Nantucket Historical Association.

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