WEST BARNSTABLE, Massachusetts – According to reports filed in Barnstable District Court, on Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 10:42 p.m., Barnstable Police patrol officers responded to the intersection of Oak Street and the Service Road for a report of a motor vehicle crash with injuries. Upon arrival, officers found one of their colleagues, a Barnstable Police sergeant, suffering injuries from the crash. The police sergeant had been traveling east along the Service Road on his way to Barnstable Police Headquarters for his Midnight to 8:00 a.m. shift as a member of the BPD’s patrol division.

According to the report, the injured sergeant told investigators he had stopped at the stop sign where Oak Street crosses the Service Road. After stopping he reported preceding through the intersection when another vehicle failed to stop for the Oak Street stop sign, striking his vehicle on the driver’s side. Investigators reportedly observed “extensive” damage to the driver’s side of the sergeant’s vehicle. The investigators also report observing the second vehicle with “extensive” front end damage resting in the roadway.

The female operator of the second vehicle was able to stand outside her vehicle while speaking with EMTs. Officers reported the woman appeared “confused as to where she was and what had happened.” The woman reportedly told EMTs that “she was not injured in any way and did not wish to be transported to CCH for further evaluation…”

The woman reportedly told officers she had been returning from her grandson’s birthday party in Sandwich and she was trying to make her way back to Wareham. When asked if she had been drinking alcohol, she reportedly stated that she had not.

She was asked a second time if she had anything to drink that evening as officers reportedly observed her to be very unsteady on her feet. Officers reportedly observed “her eyes to be bloodshot and glossy and her speech to be thick and slurred…” Officers also reportedly detected “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her.”

While attempting field sobriety tests, the woman was reportedly unsteady, swaying and unable to complete the heal-to-toe while walking a straight-line test without stumbling.

The operator of the vehicle that had just struck the off-duty police sergeant’s vehicle was then taken into custody after reportedly failing field sobriety testing.

Kathleen M. Sodekson, 66, of East Wareham, was charged with Operating Under the Influence (her 2nd OUI offense) and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle. Back at police headquarters, Sodekson refused to take the breath test and she was issued a suspension of her driver’s license for the refusal.

According to court documents, in 1997, Sodekson was arrested by state police assigned to the Bourne barracks for Operating Under the Influence. On October 9, 1998, that OUI charge was continued without a guilty finding despite “sufficient facts” being found.

The Barnstable Police sergeant that was hurt during the Sunday, November 19, 2023 crash was transported to Cape Cod Hospital. According to sources, he suffered a concussion and back injuries, and has been unable to return to work since the crash. His colleagues are hopeful for a full recovery and have been doing their best to cover for his noticeable absence during the overnight shift while he recovers.

P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is a brought to you by Pink Floyd… [CLICK IT/CRANK IT! HEADPHONES ABSOLUTELY OBLIGATORY!]

* The above details are from police reports. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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