Clinton crash suspect arrested for OUI after witnesses report alcohol cans thrown into woods

CLINTON — On Saturday, March 21, 2026, at approximately 5:13 p.m., Clinton Police Officer Kristopher Vazquez was among the officers dispatched to the intersection of Boylston Street and Willow Road following a report of a two-car crash with airbag deployment.

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

“I arrived minutes later, followed by Officer Jacob Brescia and Officer Robert Champagne,” Officer Vazquez said.

Officer Vazquez said that as he was driving up to the crash scene, he observed an unoccupied gray 2013 Chevrolet Volt with Massachusetts plates in the middle of the road with severe damage to its left side and deployed airbags.

“Upon exiting my vehicle, I noticed a large group of people standing on the large unpaved shoulder near the intersection,” Officer Vazquez said. “I was immediately approached by a male party who I knew to be Zachary.”

Officer Vazquez said Zachary pointed to a man, later identified as 23-year-old Manny Patel, who had black hair and glasses and was wearing a black Columbia jacket and blue jeans.

“While Zachary was pointing at Manny, he stated, ‘It was all him!'” Officer Vazquez said. “Zach added that he believed Manny was under the influence of an intoxicating liquor and stated that he observed Manny throwing multiple cans of alcohol into the woods near where Manny’s vehicle was parked.”

Officer Vazquez said he saw Patel wave in his direction as Zachary pointed at Patel and said, “It was all him,” adding that Patel was intoxicated. Officer Vazquez said Patel then walked toward him.

“Manny provided his license upon my request as well as the other two parties who were in the Volt. When Manny approached me, I could see that his eyes were bloodshot red and glassy,” Officer Vazquez said. “At the time of the collision, Manny was operating a gray 2018 Toyota Rav4 bearing Massachusetts Registration [# redacted]. The Toyota sustained heavy damage to the front end.”

Officer Vazquez said that as he was investigating the crash, Officer Jacob Brescia spoke with multiple witnesses.

One of the witnesses, a 73-year-old woman named Pamela, said that she observed Patel driving westbound on Willow Road.

“Manny went straight through the ‘T’ intersection and impacted the Volt,” Officer Vazquez said. “Pamela added that the Rav4 went onto the hood of the Volt, and Manny turned right and drove off of the Volt.”

Pamela’s 75-year-old husband, Stephen, reported that he saw Patel throw several beer cans into the woods after the collision.

Officer Vazquez said another witness, a 44-year-old woman named Sarah, reported that before the crash, she was driving west on Willow Road at the speed limit while Patel was driving behind her.

“Sarah added that Manny nearly ‘ran her off of the road,’ when he crossed the double yellow lines, and passed her at a high rate of speed,” Officer Vazquez said.

Officer Vazquez said that, while speaking with Patel, he noticed that Patel’s speech was slurred and that a strong odor of alcohol was coming from his breath.

“Manny stated that he was driving on Willow Road,” Officer Vazquez said. “When he approached the stop sign at the intersection of Boylston Street, he took a wide right turn and impacted the Volt. Upon asking Manny about the containers of alcohol that were thrown into the woods, he stated that he had thrown a can of Cutwater into the woods. When I asked him what Cutwater was, he stated that it was tequila. He added that he had consumed one in the Marlborough area.”

Officer Vazquez said Patel then directed police to where the cans were located in the woods and described the cans as being white and yellow.

Officer Brescia located two sealed 13-ounce cans of Cutwater White Russians.

“Upon locating one of the cans in the woods, Manny confirmed that it was one of the cans that he had thrown,” Officer Vazquez said. “While performing an inventory of the Rav4, Officer Brescia also located a tumbler in the pocket behind the front passenger’s seat. The tumbler was filled with a light-colored cloudy liquid. Based on my training and experience, I know the color to be consistent with a White Russian one would receive at a bar.”

Officer Brescia also located an open can of Cutwater White Russian in the rear cargo area of the RAV4.

“He stated to me that it ‘appeared to have been thrown back there,'” Officer Vazquez said. “Officer Brescia added that there was some fresh residual liquid still in the can, noting that it had not yet dried up or gotten ‘sticky.'”

Officer Vazquez said Patel agreed to participate in voluntary standardized field sobriety testing.

The first test Officer Vazquez asked Patel to perform was the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test.

According to findlaw.com, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test is a field sobriety test where an officer has an individual follow an object (such as a pen tip or pen light) with his/her eyes. The HGN test checks for the involuntary jerking of one’s eyes as they gaze side to side. This involuntary jerkiness is said to increase while under the influence of alcohol.

“I had Manny remove his prescription glasses and stand with his feet together. I instructed Manny to follow the tip of my pen with his eyes without moving his head,” Officer Vazquez said. “Manny confirmed that he could see the tip of my pen by touching it with his finger. During the test, I observed equal tracking and pupil size in both eyes. I also observed HGN in both eyes prior to reaching 45 degrees. Manny also displayed HGN as maximum horizontal deviation as well as Vertical Gaze Nystagmus.”

Officer Vazquez said that after completing the test, Patel stated that he did not have any medical issues except asthma.

“When I asked him if he had any disabilities or balance issues, he stated ‘no,'” Officer Vazquez said. “I took note that Manny’s shoes appeared to be in good condition, relatively flat, and slightly worn as if they had been broken in. Manny stated that he had an ‘undergrad in communications,’ he attended Northeastern, and was familiar with the English alphabet.”

The second test Officer Vazquez asked Patel to perform was the alphabet test.

“I instructed Manny to recite the English Alphabet from ‘D’ to ‘W’ without singing or rhyming,” Officer Vazquez said. “Manny stated he did not have any questions regarding the test prior to beginning. Upon starting, Manny stated, ‘W.’ I clarified ‘not backwards,’ and Manny replied to me, ‘not backwards.’ Manny then stated, ‘W,E,F,G,H,I,J,H,I,J,W,K,L,M,N,O,P.’ Upon realizing that he was not correctly reciting the alphabet, Manny told me that he had a learning disability.”

The third field sobriety test Officer Vazquez asked Patel to perform was the walk and turn test.

The walk and turn test requires the individual to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line with their hands at their sides for about nine steps (counted out loud), then turn around and return to the starting point in the same way.

“I brought Manny to the white fog line located on the road that was protected from traffic by two police cruisers,” Officer Vazquez said. “I took note that the area was flat, and clear of any debris. The white line was clearly visible.”

Officer Vazquez said he instructed Patel to place his left foot on the line and put his right foot in front, with his heel and toe touching.

“While explaining the test, I demonstrated myself. I added that Manny had to keep his arms down by his side,” Officer Vazquez said. “I instructed Manny, ‘Do not start this test until I tell you to.'”

Officer Vazquez said he then explained that Patel had to take nine heel-to-toe steps. Officer Vazquez said he demonstrated three steps but clarified that Patel had to take nine.

“I then explained that after completing nine steps, Manny had to pivot on his left foot 180 degrees while demonstrating,” Officer Vazquez said.

Officer Vazquez said he then demonstrated three steps back, but again clarified that Patel had to take nine steps.

“After the instruction, I asked Manny if he had any questions,” Officer Vazquez said. “His only question was ‘Nine steps sir?’ After confirming that he had to take nine steps, Manny started. Manny took 11 steps forward and asked if he could stop. I asked if he was done with the test, and just after me asking, Manny lost balance and stepped off of the white line with his left foot.”

Officer Vazquez said that while Patel was trying to correct his foot placement, Patel stepped off the line with his left foot multiple times.

“Upon asking Manny again if he was done, he stated, ‘yes sir’ although he did not complete a 180-degree turn or take nine steps back to his starting location,” Officer Vazquez said.

The fourth test Officer Vazquez asked Patel to perform was the one leg stand. This test involves lifting one leg about six inches from the ground, while holding the foot in a position parallel to the ground, with arms kept at the sides.

“I had Manny stand with his back to the sun so that if was not in his eyes,” Officer Vazquez said. “I again instructed Manny while demonstrating. I instructed Manny to lift any leg he wanted approximately 6 inches off of the floor and hold it there while counting out loud. I added that if his foot goes down, to pick it back up and continue the test until he’s instructed to stop. Manny replied ‘yes sir.'”

Officer Vazquez said that approximately 10 seconds into the test, Patel swayed to the right while balancing. Shortly after swaying, Patel put his raised left foot down and took a step forward with his right foot. Patel completed the test with his right foot raised.

“Manny was subsequently placed under arrest, handcuffed (DL) [double locked] and transported by me to the Clinton Police Department where he was afforded all applicable rights including Miranda, and multiple phone calls,” Officer Vazquez said. “Upon arriving at the station and removing Manny from my cruiser, I was overwhelmed with the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from the cruiser’s prisoner compartment. That odor was not there prior to Manny being in my cruiser.”

Officer Vazquez said that while Patel was being booked, Patel confirmed that the tumbler, the two sealed Cutwaters, and the open Cutwater were all his.

“After being read the Statutory Rights and Consent Form, Manny signed it and agreed to an evidentiary breath test,” Officer Vazquez said.

Officer Vazquez said Patel had to go through multiple 15-minute observation periods because he kept yawning and touching his face, despite being instructed not to.

“After a complete 15-minute observation period without incident, Manny completed the test,” Officer Vazquez said. “The breath test machine determined Manny’s BAC [blood alcohol concentration] to be 0.17%. While conversing with Manny during the 15-minute observation, I asked him if his speech was normally slurred. Manny stated that he does not normally have slurred speech and agreed that he was indeed talking with a slur.”

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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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