SALEM – A Marblehead man charged with the Lynn drunken driving crash that killed his girlfriend in March is held on $12,500 at the Middleton Jail after pleading innocent Tuesday.Christopher Maxson, 20, of 140 Elm St., #2, Marblehead, was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide while driving drunk and driving recklessly in connection with the March 21 crash that killed 19-year-old Julia Gauthier of Salem.Maxson stood solemnly in Salem Superior Court wearing a navy sport coat, white shirt, a navy and white stripped tie, khaki pants and brown loafers.Gauthier’s mother wept as the charges were read aloud and Maxon acknowledged his innocence.Judge Timothy W. Feeley said if Maxson is bailed, he is to be on house arrest and can not be released until a toxalizer and an electronic ankle bracelet is set up.He was also ordered to live with his father, can not have any contact with the Gauthier family, can not operate a vehicle, must be subject to random screenings, must abstain from all alcohol and non-prescribed substances and can only leave the home for medical and legal appointments.Before his indictment that advanced the case to Superior Court, Maxson had been free on $12,500 cash bail since his arraignment in Lynn District Court in March. At the time of the incident, Maxson was on probation for marijuana possession. He still faces a probation violation on that case, which is expected to be heard Wednesday in Lynn District Court.It was just after 1 a.m. on March 21 when Maxson, driving a Toyota 4Runner SUV, allegedly sped through two stop signs at the intersection of Glenwood Street and Eastern Avenue in Lynn, to take a shortcut home from a party on Essex Street. He reportedly clipped a vehicle and crashed into three other cars and flipped over on Glenwood.Gauthier was a front-seat passenger in the car. She was ejected through the sunroof as the SUV flipped over onto the passenger side. She was killed almost instantly.Maxson, Gauthier and two others in the car were coming from a party at the home of 19-year-old Craig Snow. Snow, of 471 Essex St., has been charged with violating the state’s Social Host Liability Law. Authorities say he was aware drinking was taking place at his party.Maxson has been indicted on two different motor vehicle homicide theories. One theory is that a jury can presume that Maxson was drunk because of a blood-alcohol level of .08 or above. A second is that a jury can conclude that Maxson was driving drunk based on other evidence introduced during trial by the state.Maxson, if convicted, faces a minimum mandatory year in jail and up to 15 years in state prison.The case was continued to Aug. 16 for pretrial conference.Gauthier graduated 10th in her class at Salem High last year and was attending Salem State at the time of her death.
