DUDLEY — On Sunday, March 15, 2026, at approximately 12:41 a.m., Officer Jeffrey Forcier of the Dudley Police Department was dispatched to the area of Baker Pond Road near where it intersects with Dresser Hill Road, following a report of a motor vehicle accident.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Jeffrey Forcier for the incident and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Dispatch advised a vehicle went off the road into a ditch and there were unknown injuries,” Officer Forcier said.
When he arrived on scene, Officer Forcier said he observed a white sedan with Massachusetts plates.
“This vehicle appeared to have been traveling westbound on Baker Pond Road when it failed to navigate a corner and crossed into the east bound lane,” Officer Forcier said, adding that the vehicle then partially left the roadway, entered a ditch, and came to a final rest after striking several trees.
“There was a male standing next to the car, he had salt and pepper colored hair, a beard and he had a visible red mark on his forehead,” Officer Forcier said. “The male subject was extremely unsteady on his feet; and although I was standing approximately three feet away from him outside, I detected a strong odor of liquor seeping from his breath and his body. Based on my training and experience, I observed him to be highly intoxicated.”
Officer Forcier asked the man what happened and if he needed medical attention.
“He refused to answer me and then said he had just walked over and found the vehicle like that,” Officer Forcier said. “I asked him if the car belonged to him and he again refused to answer my questions.”
Officer Forcier asked the man what his name was and if he could see his driver’s license.
“Instead of providing me with his name, he began to make insults about my height and made additional vulgar comments,” Officer Forcier said. “I observed his eyes were bloodshot and glassy and his speech was heavily slurred. I also observed a knife in his front pocket. For my safety, I placed him in handcuffs behind his back and removed the knife from his pocket and then sat him on the ground while waiting for Officer [Scott] Crevier to arrive on scene.”
Officer Forcier said that when Officer Crevier arrived on scene, he relayed the registration number of the vehicle to dispatch, and they confirmed the vehicle was registered to a 25-year-old man named Bert Wassenar IV.
“The uncooperative person was much older than the registered owner,” Officer Forcier noted. “While investigating further, Officer Crevier spoke with the registered owner of the vehicle who had just pulled up to the accident scene. He informed Officer Crevier that the unidentified person was his father, Bert Wassener III, and that he had taken his car earlier that evening. He stated that his father called him at 12:44 a.m., to advise him that he crashed his car but didn’t know where he was when he crashed. He then dropped a location pin from his cell phone and sent it to his son at 12:49 a.m. Officer Crevier sent me the RMV photo of Bert Wassemar III, DOB [redacted] at which time, I was able to make a positive identification.”
According to police, Bert J. Wassenar, III, 51, is a resident of Oxford, MA.
“He also informed me that the engine of said motor vehicle was still warm,” Officer Forcier said. “I checked the interior of the car and noted the keys were on the passenger seat and the driver seat appeared to be set to a distance from the pedals that was consistent with Wassenar III’s physical stature. I also noted that these actions were also indicative of a person who had prior court experience in regard to OUI Liquor. It was clear to me that Bert Wassenar III was driving the vehicle and crashed. His reluctance to identify himself and his lack of cooperation is what caused me to form the opinion that this behavior was indicative of a person trying to deflect operation of the motor vehicle.”
At approximately 1:02 a.m., Officer Forcier said Wassenar declined medical treatment from Dudley EMS.
“It was at that time, based on my training and experience, I formed the opinion that Bert Wassenar III had been operating a motor vehicle on a public way while under the influence of intoxicating Liquor and was impaired at the time of the crash. He also refused to provide me with his license or name when asked. Therefore, he was placed under arrest and subsequently transported by me to the Dudley Police Department for booking procedures. It should be noted that I did not conduct standardized field sobriety tests on Wassenar for safety reasons and due to his obvious high level of intoxication.”
Officer Forcier said that during the booking procedure, he read Wassenar his statutory rights and requested he submit to a chemical breath test.
“He not only refused to provide a breath sample. He also refused to sign the applicable forms,” Officer Forcier said. “It should be noted when I reviewed his board of probation record, I noticed that he had been charged with a prior OUI in 2019 to which he received a CWOF [continued without a finding]. Additionally, during the fingerprint processing Wassenar made a spontaneous comment about being drunk.”
Bert Wassenar, III, 51, of Oxford, was charged with the following:
- OUI – Liquor or .08% (2nd Offense)
- Negligent Operation of Motor Vehicle
- Motor Vehicle Operator Refuse to Identify Self
Wassenar was arraigned in Dudley District Court on March 16, 2026. Following his arraignment, he was released on personal recognizance.
His next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for May 8, 2026.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in March, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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