DANVERS — A retired business owner admitted yesterday that he was drunk when he crashed into another car while delivering Meals on Wheels for the Danvers Senior Center in August.
Paul Meinerth, 66, of 5 Pat Drive, Danvers, had a blood alcohol level of 0.18, more than twice the legal limit, when he turned and struck another car at the intersection of Holten and Pine streets just before noon on Aug. 31.
The driver of the other car, a nine-months-pregnant woman, and her passenger, a small child, were not injured, according to a police report.
Meinerth was a volunteer using his own vehicle to deliver food to shut-ins, his lawyer, Ed Sargent, told a Salem District Court judge yesterday.
While Meinerth had no record, prosecutors were asking Judge Dunbar Livingston to find him guilty and impose a year of probation because of the accident and the level of alcohol in Meinerth's blood.
Police say they found an empty 1-liter bottle of vodka in a paper bag inside Meinerth's car after his arrest.
Sargent urged the judge to spare Meinerth a record, asking him to instead continue the case without a finding for a year.
"He is very sorry," said Sargent, who said his client is usually the kind of person who is looking out for others.
Livingston agreed, saying that until the arrest, Meinerth appeared to be "a good citizen" who tried to help his community and who appeared remorseful.
Livingston continued the case without a finding for a year, which means that if Meinerth obeys a series of conditions, including a 45-day license suspension and attendance at alcohol-safety and brain-injury-awareness programs, the drunken-driving charge will be dismissed.
Courts reporter Julie Manganis may be reached at 978-338-2521 or jmanganis@salemnews.com.
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