Somerville had sought to highlight the disparity between white and Black victims, but editors expressed reservations about his verbal “tag,” saying it drew conclusions about the Petito case that had not been substantiated, and that it warranted a separate story with more context.Īfter supervisors cut the tag, a shortened version appeared in a subsequent newscast’s script. He was placed on leave after trying to add commentary about racial justice to a broadcast about Petito, which the station news director nixed. Somerville, 64, met controversy last September amid a dispute over coverage of the Gabby Petito homicide case.
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Since the case is pending, Somerville “cannot personally comment at this time,” the statement read, “but he takes full responsibility for what happened that night.” He is extremely sorry to the person he hit and has provided all information to his insurance company to cover the other driver’s losses.” “He has been taking steps to address the circumstances that led to this case, including attending meetings and working on himself so that nothing like this ever happens again. Somerville takes these charges very seriously,” his attorney, Shannan Dugan, wrote in a statement. He was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, and police obtained a search warrant for his blood sample, which resulted in a 0.24 blood alcohol concentration - three times the legal limit. Somerville than submitted to a preliminary alcohol screen test with two results: a 0.239 blood alcohol concentration and a 0.219 blood alcohol concentration. It went on to say that Somerville cooperated with a horizontal gaze nystagmus standardized field sobriety test, in which an officer assesses a person’s eye movement, and that he “showed signs of impairment.” When officers approached Somerville, “he exhibited symptoms of being under the influence of an alcoholic beverage: bloodshot/watery eyes, thick/slurred speech, and odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person,” the declaration said.
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when he rear-ended a silver Audi, at which point the driver of the Audi got out, and Somerville allegedly kept driving, pushing the Audi through the intersection until it collided with a pole at the southwest corner. The driver, who police later identified as Somerville, allegedly kept pressing his foot on the accelerator as the Audi hit a pole, and three bystanders rushed to the Porsche, banging on the driver’s side door and telling him to turn off the ignition.Īccording to a probable cause declaration, Somerville was driving a 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo Blue east on West Grand Avenue at about 8:20 p.m. He saw a man gripping the steering wheel and “gazing straight ahead” as he revved the engine, pushing the Audi across the street with such force that its wheels came off the ground. Tom Fortier recalled parking his Audi S4, getting out and approaching the driver’s side window of the car that hit him, a dark gray Porsche. The driver who believes Somerville hit him told The Chronicle he had stopped at a red light on West Grand Avenue and Broadway when another car slammed him from behind with enough force to shake him in the driver’s seat.
Charging documents show that Somerville is facing two counts for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood level alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more, along with an enhancement for having a blood alcohol concentration that exceeds 0.15.
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