METHUEN — Four hours after causing the Saturday night crash that sent two Chelmsford women to Boston hospitals with serious injuries, Steven Kurelko registered a .18 on the Breathalyzer at the state police barracks in Andover, according to documents filed in court.
Police at the scene said they found an open 30-pack of Bud Light on the back seat of his 2010 Ford Escape, which stopped 500 feet away from the impact in the eastbound lane of Route 213.
Yesterday in Lawrence District Court, Kurelko, 35, of 2 Forest Ridge Road, Derry, was ordered held without bail until Wednesday for the continuation of a hearing to determine whether he poses a danger to the community and should remain locked up until his trial.
Kurelko was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and causing serious bodily injury, negligent operation of a vehicle, speeding, and a marked lanes violation.
A witness told Trooper James LeDuc at the scene that Kurelko's sport utility vehicle, traveling at an estimated speed of 100 mph, struck the driver's side mirror of his Mazda Tribute before colliding with a Honda Civic carrying the two Chelmsford women, causing it to roll over several times.
Deborah Sady, 60, the passenger in the Civic, was ejected from the car.
The driver of the car was identified as Donna Traficante, 52.
Both were taken to Lawrence General Hospital and Traficante was airlifted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Sady was airlifted to Tufts Medical Center, according to state police reports.
At the arraignment, Kurelko, still wearing the hospital wristband, his face cut and bruised, stood in a brown T-shirt and blue shorts with a Red Sox logo on each side, before limping to a table to sit with his lawyer, Jessica Thrall.
Assistant District Attorney Michelle DiFeo asked Judge Mark Sullivan to grant a motion to hold Kurelko without bail pending a hearing to determine if he is a danger to the community.
Recounting the crash for the court, DiFeo said Kurelko explained the 30-pack of beer by saying he was coming from a fantasy football night and was going home to Derry. Kurelko told police the fantasy football made him nervous and he wanted to drink.
DiFeo argued that Kurelko should be held because police said he was driving an estimated 100 mph, recorded a .18 on the Breathalyzer — more than twice the legal limit — four hours after the crash, and caused serious injuries to the two women.
She said the injuries elevated the charges to felony status and the case would be going up for indictment by a grand jury.
But Thrall argued against the dangerousness hearing, telling the court there was no probable cause to hold Kurelko.
She told the court that Kurelko graduated at the top of his Greater Lawrence Technical School class in the construction program and has a history of being employed.
The judge ordered Kurelko held without bail until Wednesday's hearing.
DiFeo told the court both women injured are now listed in stable condition.
A woman described by Thrall as Kurelko's girlfriend dabbed her eyes with a tissue as she left the courtroom, and refused to speak with reporters.
