Convicted drunk driver charged with plowing into a woman crossing the street in South Boston

A South Boston man with one OUI conviction under his belt and facing charges for another alleged OUI incident was ordered held without bail after he allegedly hit a woman walking across Day Boulevard yesterday evening - sending her 15 feet into the air - and then just driving off, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

William Davis Watson, 37, of South Boston, was stopped by a state trooper as he tried to get on I-93 after hitting the woman, 60, near the State Police barracks around 7:50 p.m., according to the DA's office. He was arraigned today in South Boston Municipal Court on charges of charges of operating with a suspended license and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury.

A motorist who had witnessed the incident followed the suspect vehicle, spotted a trooper’s cruiser, and began leaning on her horn to get his attention. When the trooper approached her car, she pointed out the suspect vehicle and said it had just hit a pedestrian and "took off."

The trooper began pursuit of the red Toyota sedan, which had by this time passed the cruiser, and stopped it in the area of the onramp to I-93 northbound. Watson was alone in the vehicle. When the trooper asked if he had hit a pedestrian, he allegedly stated, "I think so."

Prosecutors say the woman suffered head and hip injuries, but is expected to survive.

At the time of his arrest, Watson was on probation for operating under the influence of liquor as a first offense out of Lynn District Court and was in default for operating under the influence of liquor and operating with a suspended license out of Dorchester Municipal Court.