WEST NEWBURY, Mass. — A Wells driver who struck a utility pole in West Newbury, Massachusetts on Sunday was high on drugs at the time, and the crash is similar to one he was involved in three years ago in New Hampshire, police say.

Mark J. Boisvert of Wells, 37, was arrested and charged by West Newbury officers with driving while under the influence of drugs, possession of a Class A drug, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, failing to keep right for an oncoming motor vehicle and a marked lanes violation. He was released on personal recognizance bail after his arrest, but a judge placed him in custody Tuesday following his arraignment on the charges.

Boisvert’s bail was set at $2,500 cash and he agreed to enter a 28-day jail drug rehabilitation program before returning to court on Dec. 17 for a pretrial hearing.

A police report filed after the accident indicates that Boisvert’s pickup truck veered over the center line and crossed a westbound lane before striking the utility pole, which then snapped at its base.

Police say Boisvert and a male passenger in the pickup truck suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Boisvert told responding officers that he was tuning the radio and lost control of his vehicle, however officers noticed that he and his passenger appeared to be under the influence of something at the time of the crash, according to information contained in the police report.

Officers asked Boisvert to take a field sobriety test and he failed, resulting in his arrest. He was taken to an area hospital for evaluation and once there, police found a small, clear plastic bag in his possession containing a white powder. That substance was subsequently identified as heroin, police said.

In April 2015, Boisvert also was involved in a serious accident on I-95 southbound in Seabrook, New Hampshire.

In that crash, New Hampshire State Troopers said that Boisvert struck the rear of a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe at a high rate of speed, causing the vehicle’s driver to lose control, spinning, and striking the left side of the roadway and then stopping in the high-speed breakdown lane.

Troopers said that a witness had pulled over behind Boisvert’s vehicle in the moments after the crash and watched him leave the scene and continue driving.

Not long thereafter, troopers were notified that Boisvert had driven to a local auto body repair shop in Salisbury, Massachusetts, where his vehicle was parked after sustaining extensive front end damage.

He was charged with multiple violations relating to that crash.

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