Avon Man Charged with Driving Drunk With Children in Vehicle

Hingham, MA police arrested an Avon man on Sunday evening on charges of driving drunk while having two children in his vehicle.

According to Hingham police records, the man was pulled over on Chief Justice Cushing Highway around 6:50 p.m. Sunday after another motorist reported spotting a black BMW driving erratically in the area and swerving all over the road.

Police arrested Bradford Belding, 44, of Avon, operating under the influence of alcohol, and operating while under the influence of alcohol with two children under the age of 14 in the car.  Belding was also charged with having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle and with driving with a suspended license.

When Belding’s 2003 BMW 325 stopped at a red light, another motorist, a 71-year-old man, approached him and told him he should not be driving.  Police said Belding pulled over near the intersection of Route 3A and East Street and the other motorist pulled over behind him with his hazard lights flashing, and waited for police.

Hingham Police said Belding was found with  “extremely slurred speech and  “very glassy eyes.” Police also said he smelled of a strong odor an alcoholic beverage and was swaying as he sat in the driver’s seat.  After being questioned by police, Belding first claimed he had not been drinking and later admitted to drinking two beers. The open container found in Belding’s BMW was an open water bottle that smelled heavily of hard liquor, police said. The bottle was seized as evidence.

The two children, ages 7 and 10,  were transported to the police station and picked up by their mother.  Police said a 51A was filed on behalf of the children with the Department of Children and Families.

Belding was held on $250 cash bail overnight at the Plymouth County House of Correction and was arraigned Monday.

Previously, Canton police charged Belding on Sept. 17 with illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs and evading responsibility in an incident involving property damage or injury, according to the state judicial website. Canton police also cited him with failure to drive in the proper lane.

Belding also faces a drunk driving charge out of Edgartown, MA, according to www.patriotledger.com.