Widow: Driver In Fatal OUI Crash 'Needs To Have Consequences'

WOBURN (CBS) - A woman with a history of driving under the influence pleaded not guilty Tuesday to new charges in a deadly crash on Interstate 95 in Reading last year.

Lynn DeWolfe, 51, of Tyngsborough, was arraigned on several charges in Middlesex Superior Court including motor vehicle homicide and driving under the influence of drugs. A grand jury indicted her last month in the crash that killed a motorcyclist in August 2017.

Police said DeWolfe was driving erratically on the highway, when she hit a car, forcing it toward oncoming traffic where it hit a motorcycle driven by 42-year-old Chris Weisz of Bedford, who was killed.

DeWolfe said she had taken painkillers and Lorazepam and had a reaction to the medication before the collision. She was arrested on lesser charges after the crash.  She's now charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs - third offense, motor vehicle homicide, operating a motor vehicle to endanger and three counts of leaving the scene of property damage.

A Boston Globe report revealed in May that DeWolfe was involved in another crash earlier in the day and that a State Trooper let her drive away. Nineteen minutes later, she was involved in the crash on I-95 that killed Weisz. State Police have ordered an independent investigation into the crash.

On Tuesday, the judge kept DeWolfe on house arrest with a GPS monitor and transferred her $25,000 bail to Superior Court. She's due back in court for a dangerousness hearing on July 25.

"I'm happy Lynn DeWolfe has finally been charged with contributing to my husband's death, causing his death. So this is just the beginning of the next process to get justice for Chris," Weisz's widow Alexis told reporters outside court. "She needs to have consequences for her actions. Nothing will bring Chris back."