The former chairman for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has been found in default and a warrant issued for his arrest after he failed to appear at his arraignment on drunken driving charges.
Haverhill District Court officials said they received a phone call saying 52-year-old Matthew Amorello was at UMass Medical Center and could not attend Monday.
It was not immediately clear why Amorello, of Wenham, was hospitalized. The official report from his arrest in Haverhill at about 2 a.m. on Saturday morning said he suffered scrapes on his knees and a cut on his forehead after he allegedly struck two parked vehicles.
Amorello was booked for operating under the influence and two counts of leaving the scene of property damage. According to police, Amorello hit two parked cars on River Street and then left the scene.
Victims at 344 River St. say they were sleeping and heard a loud boom. They ran to the window to find Amorello's Explorer pulling away.
A person whose car he hit found him hiding in the Mercedes dealership Smith Motors shortly after his car was hit. The victim says Amorello was sitting in his car. Amorello allegedly left his wheel and front axel at the scene and drove off without them before being arrested. He was held at the station until 8:30 that morning and then posted $40 bail.
According to court records, Amorello was holding onto his steering wheel and would not step out of the vehicle when asked by officers. Police say it appears Amorello urinated on himself inside the truck.
Amorello was then pepper-sprayed so officers could get him out of his truck. Police say continued to be uncooperative. Court documents say Amorello laid on his hands so police could not cuff him. Police dragged him to the cruiser, scraping his knees and elbow on the ground because according to report he was too heavy to carry.
Police say Amorello had to be dragged into the station, and once inside the station, Amorello was passed out on the floor of the booking room. He allegedly resisted officers trying to take his booking photo. Police say Amorello refused to walk to his cell so they had to drag him, then laid him on his side inside his cell. Amorello did refuse treatment on the scene and a breath test.
Amorello was appointed in 2002 and resigned under pressure in 2006 after a portion of tunnel ceiling fell on a car, killing a Boston woman. He has been unavailable for comment.
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