Police reports: Oliver estimated at 50 mph in a 30 zone before crash, refused blood test
An officer asked the district attorney to subpoena his blood work, the reports say, and a witness told police the SUV stayed stopped at a green light, then sped up, drifted and crossed into the southbound lane.
NEW BEDFORD Shawn Oliver's SUV was going an estimated 50 mph in a 30 mph zone when it struck parked vehicles on Dartmouth Street and flipped onto its roof late Saturday, a crash that involved five parked vehicles in all, according to police reports released by the New Bedford Police Department. At St. Luke's Hospital, Oliver refused an evidentiary blood draw, and the arresting officer asked the Bristol County district attorney to subpoena his blood work, the reports say.
Oliver, 42, a New Bedford city councilor who suspended his campaign for lieutenant governor Sunday, was arraigned Monday in New Bedford District Court on charges of operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf, and he was released on personal recognizance and is due back Nov. 16, according to news coverage of the hearing. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
What a witness told police
A driver who was behind Oliver's black 2015 Lincoln Navigator at a set of lights on Dartmouth Street, south of Rockdale Avenue, told police the SUV stayed stopped after the light turned green, Officer Orlando Franco wrote. The witness said he had to back up to see the light, which was green. The Navigator then accelerated north through the intersection and drifted right, nearly striking the curb opposite New York Bagel at 571 Dartmouth St., then veered left, the witness told police.
After it crossed Rockdale Avenue, the SUV drifted left into the southbound lane and struck vehicles parked along the west curb, then flipped upside down, according to the witness's account in Franco's report. One car was pushed over the curb, across the sidewalk and onto the grass, and another was pushed into a third parked car, Franco wrote. The witness, whom the released reports do not identify, asked to remain anonymous, according to Franco.
The citation Franco issued lists the speed as 50 mph in a 30 mph zone, marked as an estimate rather than a radar or clocked reading, and marks the limit as not posted.
What Oliver told officers
Officer Andrew Parker, dispatched at about 11:30 p.m., found the Navigator empty and Oliver standing on the sidewalk on his cellphone, according to Parker's report. Oliver was bleeding and had a cut behind his right ear, Parker wrote. A bystander yelled, "He's right here, nobody else is in the car," and a civilian brought out a chair for him.
Asked how he felt, Oliver said, "OK, it's been a long day," Parker wrote. He was "initially reluctant" to say where he was coming from, then said, "I was coming from a meeting with friends in Dartmouth," and that he had been driving north into New Bedford. He asked whether everyone else was OK, and Parker told him he was the only person involved in the crash, the report says. Oliver later said he was "burning both ends of the wick" and again asked whether everyone else was OK, Parker wrote.
In the hospital room, Franco wrote, Oliver "admitted to consuming at least 2 alcoholic beverages earlier in the night at Black Bass Grill" and then went to a friend's house in Dartmouth, though the report says it is unclear what time that was. Franco and Sgt. Terrel Parent both noted bloodshot, glassy eyes and a moderate odor of alcohol. His injuries kept him from doing field sobriety tests, and Parent wrote that a head wound needed staples.
The arrest and the evidence
Oliver was arrested at 1:27 a.m. Sunday, the arrest report says, and Franco wrote that he was handcuffed to his hospital bed. Lt. Donald Williams read him the statutory rights and consent form for a blood draw, and Oliver refused, which was entered as a refusal, according to Franco's report. Franco attached a preservation notice to his report and asked that the district attorney subpoena Oliver's blood work. Oliver was given a copy of his notice of suspension, Franco wrote.
Officers' body cameras recorded at the scene and in the hospital room, the reports say. The department notes in each narrative that body cameras do not capture everything an officer sees and hears.
What comes next
Probable cause was found on all four counts Monday, the application for a criminal complaint shows. The arrest report lists the OUI and negligent operation charges as misdemeanors and the marked lanes and speeding counts as violations. South Coast 360 asked Oliver for comment Monday afternoon at his city council email; he had not replied as of publishing.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
How we verified this
Every fact about the crash, the arrest and what Oliver said comes from the police reports released by the New Bedford Police Department, which we read in full Monday; quotations are copied from the reports. The pleas entered on his behalf, his release and the next court date are from Monday's arraignment, as reported by the newsrooms named in our main story on the case. The reports give the crash dispatch as 11:29 p.m. and the arrest as 1:27 a.m.; Officer Parker's report dates the night as Saturday, Oct. 18, which was a Sunday, so we use the dispatch record's Oct. 17. We left out the witness's identity, Oliver's home address, date of birth and plate. Not heard: Oliver, whom South Coast 360 asked for comment at 5:03 p.m. Sunday and again at 4:01 p.m. Monday at his city council email; no reply as of publishing.
Corrections
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Sources (1)
- New Bedford Police Department reports, case 26-1760-AR (released Oct. 19, 2026)Application for criminal complaint (Third District Court), arrest report 26-1760-AR, narratives of Officer Orlando Franco, Officer Andrew Parker and Sgt. Terrel Parent, statement of facts, and Massachusetts uniform citation 622154AE. Read Oct. 19, 2026.