ICE agents take driver charged in Massachusetts State Police crash away from Peabody courthouse

Lucas Di Benedetto, the accused wrong-way driver who crashed into a Massachusetts State Police cruiser last weekend on Route 1 in Peabody, was taken into custody by ICE Tuesday morning.

Di Benedetto, 41, of Newburyport, was scheduled to be arraigned in Peabody District Court on drunk driving and several other charges related to the crash early Sunday morning.

But as he arrived at the courthouse on his own around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, several Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents took him, put him in an unmarked car and drove away. One of the agents told CBS News Boston they were "detaining an illegal who was involved in a very high-profile incident" and admitted they were "were waiting for him to come here."

There was also a camera crew with agents documenting the capture of Di Benedetto before he could get inside the courthouse.

A prosecutor for the Essex District Attorney's office later confirmed in court that Di Benedetto was taken into ICE custody and Judge Frances Dallmeyer issued a default warrant in the wrong-way driving case.

CBS News Boston has reached out to ICE for comment but has not heard back yet. Under the guidelines of the Protect Act in Massachusetts, ICE is not allowed on state property owned by the executive branch. Di Benedetto was captured in the courthouse parking lot, which is exempt from the act.

State Police said Di Benedetto was driving south on the northbound side of Route 1 around 2 a.m. Sunday. Moments later, his pickup truck crashed into a trooper's cruiser. Both were taken to the hospital, treated for injuries and released.

The trooper has not been identified. Di Benedetto was charged with OUI liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and driving the wrong way on a state highway. He was released on $500 cash bail.

It was the second high-profile wrong way crash on Route 1 in the last month. Trooper Kevin Trainor and the driver who hit him were both killed in a crash in Lynnfield on May 6.

The trooper who was hurt in Sunday's crash was in the same recruit training class as Trainor, according to the state police union.

Massachusetts currently has 16 locations with wrong-way detection software as part of a pilot program to stop wrong-way drivers. Connecticut has more than 200.

Peabody, Massachusetts is about 20 miles north of Boston.