New Hampshire man charged with OUI, tire violation after crashing into bridge in Townsend

TOWNSEND — On Friday, December 12, 2025, Townsend police said a purple 2006 Toyota Corolla with New Hampshire plates, driven by a 21-year-old man, was traveling west on Main Street. As it passed the intersection with Wheeler Road, the driver lost control, skidded across the double yellow lines into the eastbound lane and crashed into the side of a bridge.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Michael Marchand and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“As I was approaching the scene, I could see the purple Toyota Corolla sitting in the eastbound lane, facing westbound,” Officer Marchand said. “The road was dry and clear approaching the crash scene, but there was snow all over the roadway from the impact of the crash, and skid marks that led to the crash scene.”

Officer Michael Marchand said that upon arrival, an EMT with Woods Ambulance Service told him he had been speaking with the operator — later identified as Eric Chmielecki — and could smell alcohol. The EMT said Chmielecki appeared agitated and he was reluctant to approach him closely.

According to police, Eric J. Chmielecki, 21, is a resident of Antrim, New Hampshire.

“Eric was standing near the back of his car, and it sounded like he was vomiting. I approached Eric and tried to talk to him. As he spoke, he spoke with a thick tongue, slurred speech,” Officer Marchand said. “His speech was also slow. He had snot running down his face. I could see that his eyes were glassy and bloodshot. He was also talking in circles.”

Officer Marchand said he was standing approximately four to five feet away and could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Chmielecki’s breath as he spoke.

“He was also swaying as he stood there,” Officer Marchand said. “[The EMT] asked Eric if he was wearing his seatbelt. [The EMT] stated that he was not.”

Officer Marchand looked inside the vehicle and saw that the seatbelt was already clipped into the buckle, which would prevent the seatbelt alarm from activating. (People sometimes pre-buckle the belt, behind their back or underneath them, to stop the warning chime from going off.

“When Eric went into the ambulance with Townsend Fire-EMS, I looked closer at the vehicle,” Officer Marchand said. “I saw that the front tires had little to no tread on them and were smooth to the touch; which contained less than 2/32″ of required tire tread.”

Officer Marchand said that during the motor vehicle inventory, Sargent David Phillips, who had also responded to the scene, located six opened and empty 50ml jars of Ole Smoky Moonshine, and one open and empty nip of Smirnoff Vodka inside the cabin of the vehicle.

“Eric was transported to Leominster Hospital by Townsend Fire-EMS. He was not given the opportunity to refuse transport, due to his level of alcohol consumption,” Officer Marchand said. “At the hospital, Eric admitted to going to Gate City Casino in Nashua and having two beers. Due to the extended stay at the hospital (approximately four hours), I was unable to administer the breath test. An immediate threat against his license is being submitted.”

Chmielecki was arraigned in Ayer District Court on Dec. 15, 2025, and released on personal recognizance. He returned to court for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 6, 2026.

Chmielecki’s next court appearance is a discovery, compliance and election hearing scheduled for April 10, 2026.

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Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the arrest in this story took place in December, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.

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