A vice principal at Dennis-Yarmouth Middle School was arrested in downtown Boston on August 9 after police say she drove her Jeep Grand Cherokee into oncoming traffic on Kneeland Street, forcing other drivers to swerve out of her way before she backed up and turned onto South Street. Holly Burns, 44, now faces a felony charge of operating under the influence of liquor, third offense, along with misdemeanor reckless operation and a civil citation for improper operation.
According to a police report cited by WCVB, Burns nearly struck a police cruiser during the encounter near South and Beach streets. Officers reported that she had slurred speech, glossy eyes, and smelled of alcohol, and a breath test recorded her blood alcohol concentration at .08 percent, meeting the legal threshold for an OUI arrest under Massachusetts law, according to Daily Voice. Police searching the Jeep reportedly found a Miller Lite can, a can of cannabis gummies, and a small blue THC bottle inside the vehicle, per the police report referenced by WCVB.
South Street is a marked one-way road in Boston, and police said Burns placed the Jeep in reverse after initially stopping, backing into oncoming traffic before turning left onto South Street. She was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving drunk on the wrong side of the road.
Court Appearance and Pending Case
Burns was arraigned the next day, August 10, in Boston Municipal Court, where a judge entered a not guilty plea on her behalf and released her on personal recognizance, the same account notes. She is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on September 22. Defense attorney Thomas Glynn of Everett, who is representing Burns in the proceedings, declined to comment on the pending criminal case, according to Daily Voice's reporting.
The charge carries significant weight because Massachusetts treats OUI convictions under a lifetime lookback period, meaning any prior offenses on Burns' record — however old — count toward calculating whether a new charge rises to a felony tier, according to OUI Attorneys. Under M.G.L. c. 90, § 24, a third OUI offense is a felony punishable by 180 days to five years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 150 days in custody, fines ranging from $1,000 to $15,000, and an eight-year license revocation, per the statute referenced by Daily Voice.
District Response and Employment Status
Dennis-Yarmouth Middle School in South Yarmouth serves sixth and seventh graders and enrolled 481 students during the 2025–2026 school year, with Burns working as one of two assistant principals alongside Principal Michael Bovino and Assistant Principal Lee Hanscom, per district enrollment figures cited by Daily Voice. Superintendent Marc Smith acknowledged that the district was made aware of Burns' arrest and said an internal investigation was conducted, though Burns remains employed by the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District as the case proceeds.
School Committee Chair Jeni Landers referred public inquiries about Burns' employment status and the district's review directly to superintendent leadership rather than commenting further, the outlet reported. The regional district is governed by a seven-member school committee representing Yarmouth and Dennis, overseeing six public schools and more than 600 permanent employees across the two towns, according to the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District.
The arrest adds to a string of recent OUI cases making headlines across Eastern Massachusetts. Hoodline previously reported on a Duxbury man's third-offense OUI arrest with a child in the vehicle, and on a state trooper caught slumped at the wheel in a separate downtown Boston OUI case earlier this year. Burns' case now heads toward its next milestone at the September 22 pretrial hearing in Boston Municipal Court.
