5-year-old girl dies in alleged drunken driving crash; driver charged

A driver is facing charges in connection with an alleged drunken driving crash that claimed the life of a young girl Saturday in Franklin, Massachusetts, sources said.The child, whose age, sources said, was 5 years old, was a passenger traveling with her parents and brother in a sedan on Grove Street when their vehicle collided with a pickup truck just before 6:30 p.m.The girl, who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The girl's brother and mother, who were also passengers in the car, were hospitalized with serious injuries. The child's father, who was driving, was released from the hospital after receiving treatment for his injuries. Throughout the day, people visited the crash site and left teddy bears and flowers. "Oh, it's heartbreaking because we know how full of promise children are," said Lisa Oxford, who came to the memorial with her husband, David. "The poor girl never started her life. She didn't have a chance to start her life.""I figured I'd just do something for her," said Rick Talamini. "It's just tragic, you know. It's too bad the little girl had to die.""I cried because I work with kids, and hearing that a little girl passed away so tragically, it broke my heart -- absolutely shattered my heart," Stacy Smith said.A neighbor said the family had just left a soccer game at a nearby field when the crash happened. The driver of the truck, 21-year-old James Blanchard, of Franklin, was arrested and charged with motor vehicle homicide while driving negligently and under the influence of alcohol, three counts of operating under the influence of alcohol and causing serious bodily injury, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle with an open container of alcohol, and a marked lanes violation."Put your keys down. Lock them up. If you have to, sleep in your car. See if you can stay with your friends. Just don't do this. Somebody lost their life. Parents aren't going to get to see their child grow up because of what happened," Smith said.Blanchard is being held on $500,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Wrentham District Court.