Somerville Man Charged With Drug Trafficking After Crash

SOMERVILLE, MA — A Somerville man was charged with drug trafficking after a crash on Washington Street Sunday evening.

Michael Shehadi, 36, was questioned by police while being treated by paramedics. He told officers he was trying to light a cigarette, looked down and drove into oncoming traffic, according to the police report.

The occupants of the struck car told officers they saw Shehadi get out of his car and place something in the sewer, police said. Officers searched the sewer and found two bank deposit bags containing plastic bags with an off-white powdery substance inside, police said.

One of the deposit bags weighed 79.5 grams, while the other contained three small baggies with a combined weight of 7.5 grams, police said. The second bag also had a check made out to Shehadi, according to the police report.

Shehadi was arrested on charges of trafficking a class A substance over 28 grams and issued a criminal citation for a marked lanes violation.