American charged with drunken driving, negligent driving, speeding and breakdown lane violations when his car rammed a state trooper’s vehicle parked alongside the road, sending her to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Senne was not seriously injured in the accident which occurred at about 6:10 AM on July 26, 2003 in Wareham, MA. Eyewitnesses said Senne was traveling at more than 90 miles per hour. The trooper, Ellen E. Engelhardt, had been with the State Police Force for 22 years, and she suffered such severe injuries that, at the time of his sentencing, she could not talk, walk or feed herself and it was unclear how much she understands or whether she would recover from her massive head trauma. In November 2002, she was the victim of a similar accident and had just returned to work in February ’03.
This run-in with alcohol was not Senne’s first. A few months prior to this devastating accident, on April 17, 2003, at about 10:45 PM in Wayland, MA, he was found by police with a 30-pack of beer in his car. In lieu of fines or punishment, Senne had been ordered by a court magistrate to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
On January 20, 2005, Senne tearfully pleaded guilty to drunk driviig as his semi-comatose victim was wheeled into the courtroom. He was sentenced to two and a half years in jail with eligibility for parole in 15 months. The trooper’s family vowed to sue for $6 million in damages.