By Jim Clark

At the request of the Somerville Fire Department, police officers were dispatched to the intersection of Cross Street and Pearl Street for a motor vehicle accident last Wednesday afternoon.

Upon arrival, police conferred with Fire Department personnel on what had transpired at the scene, and a set of keys belonging to the operator of a moped were turned over to the officers. They were told that the keys were taken away from the moped’s driver, later identified as Jose Zelaya, by the operator of a Cadillac Escalade who had been reportedly sideswiped by the moped. The operator of the Cadillac had taken the keys because he reportedly felt that Zelaya was intoxicated and looked as though he might want to flee from the scene.

The driver of the Escalade reportedly told officers that he was stopped at the intersection waiting for the light to change when his vehicle was sideswiped.

The officers attempted to question Zelaya but failed to get very far, according to reports, because he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

The driver of the Cadillac noted that the damage to his vehicle was light and expressed a desire to settle with Zelaya outside of the legal system. Zelaya reportedly failed to cooperate, however, and after failing a field sobriety test was placed under arrest and charged with operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor.