Police: Swansea man charged with OUI after pickup crashes into Route 6 home
No one was inside the home, which was found unsafe to occupy. Firefighters shored up the porch roof and Liberty Utilities handled a gas leak, police said.
SWANSEA A Swansea man was charged with operating under the influence after his pickup truck left Route 6 and crashed into the porch and foundation of a home Saturday afternoon, Oct. 24, Swansea police said. No one was inside, and the home was found unsafe to occupy, according to the department.
Douglas McLane, 45, of Swansea, was charged with operating under the influence, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and a marked lanes violation, police said in a statement posted Saturday night.
What police said happened
Swansea police, Swansea firefighters and the Swansea Ambulance Corps were sent to Grand Army of the Republic Highway, which is Route 6, at about 4:29 p.m. after a 911 caller reported that a truck had crashed into a house, the department said.
Officers determined that a gray 2022 Toyota Tacoma driven by McLane had been traveling on Route 6 when it left the road and struck the home, police said. The truck's airbags had deployed. Because officers were concerned about a possible gas leak, they quickly removed McLane from the truck, and the ambulance corps took him to Charlton Memorial Hospital for evaluation, according to the statement.
After an investigation, McLane was placed under arrest on the operating under the influence charge, police said.
The home
Firefighters from Rescue 1 and Engine 4 worked to stabilize the damaged porch, assembling cribbing and setting vertical supports beneath the porch roof, the department said. Photos the Swansea Fire Department released show the pickup resting against the porch at the front of the house, with stacked timber cribbing and a wooden post holding up the roof above it.
No people were inside at the time of the crash, police said. A dog was in the home, and the homeowners came back to the scene and took it out. Liberty Utilities crews responded to address a gas leak, and the truck was towed away, according to the department.
The charges
Operating under the influence and negligent operation are both criminal offenses under Chapter 90, Section 24, of the state's motor vehicle law. For a first OUI offense, the law sets a fine of $500 to $5,000, up to two and a half years in jail, or both, with heavier penalties for later offenses. Negligent operation, which the law describes as driving "negligently so that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered," carries a fine of $20 to $200, two weeks to two years in jail, or both.
Police noted in their statement that the charges are allegations. McLane is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
It was the second crash into a South Coast home on Saturday. That morning, an occupant was freed after a vehicle crashed into a Fall River home, the city's firefighters union said. Read that story.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact about the crash, the arrest and the charges comes from the Swansea Police Department's release, which we read at 10:10 p.m. Oct. 24, about an hour after it was posted. The penalties come from the text of Chapter 90, Section 24, of the General Laws, read the same night; they describe the law, not any outcome in this case. The homeowners are not named. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: Swansea police and the Swansea Fire Department.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (2)
- Swansea Police Department, "Swansea Police and Fire Departments Respond After Truck Crashes Into Home; Driver Arrested"Department release with three Swansea Fire Department photos, posted Oct. 24, 2026, at 9:06 p.m. Name, age, charges, times, units, the hospital, the gas leak and the home's condition. Read Oct. 24, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 90, Section 24Penalties for operating under the influence (subsection 1(a)(1)) and negligent operation (subsection 2(a)). Read Oct. 24, 2026.