Articles Posted in Vehicular Crimes

No, the upcoming Sandra Bullock new movie, filmed in Boston, is not, “The
Trouble With Parked Trucks”. It was an accident.

This morning’s vehicular incident outside Roxbury Municipal Court brings certain
criminal justice issues to mind. well, at least to my mind. I suppose that
grants me enough reason to give you Attorney Sam’s take on it.

The MBTA bus smashed into the movie production truck while the latter was parked
outside the courthouse.

There were approximately 20 people on board the Route 28 bus. 15 people
were examined by emergency medical personnel and 4 were placed on back boards.
At least four ambulances were dispatched to the scene.

Normally, parked vehicles have the “right of way” I believe. Given that people
were injured, you may be sure that some personal injury lawsuits will be
forthcoming. Given that one of the vehicles was parked at the time, a criminal
investigation and criminal charges may well be brought as well.

It has not been a particularly good month thus far for vehicular tragedies. For
example, one very young girl was killed on route 1 in Saugus recently.

Massachusetts is not alone, however. In Bottineau, North Dakota, there was such
a tragic accident this past Sunday.
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In the last Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog, we began discussing the verdict and sentencing of Aaron Deveau (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). He is the young gentleman who was just convicted of texting while he was driving and, as a result, smashing into another vehicle and causing eventual death to one person and serious injury to another.

The sentence the judge handed down has been, to some extent, controversial.

The Commonwealth’s sentiments are, ironically enough, made out best by a defense lawyer who said, “The message here is, the commonwealth is not going to tolerate any violations of this law…It’s extremely dangerous to text and drive at the same time, and the jury’s verdict and the judge’s sentencing reflects that.”

Of course, the Commonwealth agrees with the sentiment. Dave Procopio, the spokesman for the state police, says, “This was an important case that made very clear the consequences of distracted driving and the resolve and ability of police and prosecutors to hold accountable people who do it.”

And they are right. Sort of. I would not be surprised if the next step were to elevate vehicular homicide in such cases to that of similar homicides which result because the driver was driving drunk. After all, at least alcoholism is a disease. Texting is not a biological compulsion. It is, even more than drinking, a choice.

I understand all that. And I do sympathize with the victims of this case as well as those like it. The results in such cases are tragedies of immense proportions. However, it does bring up a question I raised in my last blog. Namely, what does one do when the convicted defendant is not really what we would normally consider a “criminal”?

It is an issue which I think we had best think carefully…because it is likely to impact all our lives.
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As I write this, history is being made at the Haverhill District Court.

It is the first trial for vehicular homicide taking place where the negligent acts of the defendant are the use of a cellular phone, to wit: texting. As you may recall, we discussed the new law regarding texting while driving when it was passed not so long ago..

Aaron Deveau, a teenager hereinafter, the “Defendant”, is now 18 years of age. On February 20, 2011, when he was 17, he is Alleged to have received 193 text messages…some of which are said to have come within moments of his crossing into oncoming traffic and smashing head-on into another car, killing the driver and seriously injuring a passenger. Prosecutors add that 4 of these texts came within two minutes of the impact.

55-year-old Donald Bowley of Danville, New Hampshire was on the other side of that impact. 18 days later, Mr. Bowley died of severe brain trauma apparently caused by the accident. In the car with Mr. Bowley was Luz Roman. She is said to have serious injuries, including the breaking of all her ribs, collapsed lungs and fractured pelvis and leg.

Roman testified that all of her ribs were broken, her lungs collapsed, and her pelvis and leg were fractured.

The charges the Defendant faces Include negligent motor vehicle homicide and causing injury in a crash while texting and driving. If convicted, he is said to be facing a sentence of four years in jail.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Vehicular Homicide Prosecutions

Regular readers of the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog may notice this case is being brought in state district court, not Superior Court. As we have discussed, most prosecutions for serious crimes such as homicide are usually brought in Superior Court. It is Superior Court which has the jurisdiction to send people to state prison for many years…even life without parole.

However, this homicide trial is taking place in District Court where the maximum sentence the court can give on any one crime is two and one half years in the House Of Correction.

You may be wondering if the Commonwealth is simply “giving a break “to the young Defendant.
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As the trial for Aaron Duveau, 18, continues, Haverhill police officer Wayne Tracey testified today that the crash was “the worst he had ever seen in his law enforcement career.” Tracey was one of the first to respond to the scene on February 20, 2011 after, as authorities allege, Duveau drifted across the center line of a street and into oncoming traffic, colliding with a car driven by a 55-year-old New Hampshire man. The man died several weeks later from severe brain trauma.

Tracey testified that Duveau, who was 17 at the time of the crash, also appeared tired and “a bit sluggish” at the scene. He is now being faced with violating a new state law which criminalizes texting behind the wheel of a car when an individual has been injured during a crash. According to Essex District Attorney Ashlee Logan, Duveau sent and received four text messages in the three-minute period leading up to the collision.
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The Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog has discussed many stories which demonstrate that, particularly with new technology, law enforcement has such tools in its arsenal that attempting to out-race them is futile.

Well, Boston police made an arrest on Friday night which shows that the reverse is not necessarily true.

Twenty-two year old Dexter Winnie (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was pulled over by a plain clothes officer for failing to use his turn signal. Officers then searched the Defendant and his car after noting the smell of marijuana. The search turned up marijuana, a knife, and brass knuckles.

The Defendant was arrested on weapons and drug charges, as well as receiving the original traffic citation.

During the stop, the officers report that they could hear a Boston Police Operations broadcast coming from inside the Defendant’s car. It turns out that the transmission was coming from an application from the Defendant’s phone.

So they seized the cell phone too.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Search, Seizure And Pot

One wonders what the Defendant heard during the moments preceding his car being stopped. Clearly, it did not give him enough warning to be wary.

Perhaps the facts of this case will all come out someday. If it does, it is unlikely to be because of the trial of the matter.

“Why is that, Sam? Because the Defendant was caught with the contraband and so he has no choice but to plead guilty?”

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You know how the Boston Criminal Lawyer Bog keep telling you that if the police are after you to stop…you should stop?

Here is yet another example of a young man who did not see it quite that way. Now, he has only increased his criminal justice woes.

Of course, our 16-year-old Westford gent (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) had some outstanding problems t begin with. More specifically, there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest due to a probation violation in a felony matter.

If you are not going contact an experienced criminal defense attorney and arrange your return to court (which you should), it might be wise to lay low for awhile.

He didn’t.

According to law enforcement, he was driving at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour Monday night. First, Westford police tried to flag him down. No go.

The car chase went from Westford to Weston.

Westford police finally requested that Massachusetts State Police in Concord help them track down the Defendant on Route 3. The state troopers gave chase, using of police vehicles as well as overhead support had to be used.

The chase continued to Route 128, the Metro Boston State Police joining the event and on to Route 30. According to police, this is where the chased ended…when the Defendant crashed into a guardrail.

He was then taken into custody.

He was held overnight without bail by police before he went to court.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Police Chases

The Defendant, simply by not stopping in a chase he was destined to lose, has worsened his situation.
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As you may be aware, there is a legislative effort underway today to change the laws regarding the use of cell phones while driving in Massachusetts.

Most people seem to be for it.

But is there really a need for it?

Attorney Sam’s Take On Redundant Criminal Statutes

The first statute, the one in effect now, was passed around a year ago. That law made it illegal for anyone to text while driving and illegal for anyone 18 years or under to use a cellphone at all while driving.

Apparently, folks are not satisfied with the results.
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This experienced Boston criminal lawyer checked into Boston.com this morning to get a view of what was happening over the weekend in the Commonwealth. It would appear that ‘Tis already the season for vehicular crimes throughout the Bay State.

• In Peabody, an 88-year-old woman was struck by a car at a major intersection. According to authorities, she suffered life threatening injuries, including head injury, from the collision. No criminal charges have been brought yet as the matter is still under investigation.

• In Springfield, two people, including a woman who is seven months pregnant, were injured in a highway collision due allegedly to one car swerving in and out of lanes and losing control, spinning into a guardrail, and travelling back into another lane. A second vehicle apparently swerved to avoid the first vehicle and crashed into another guardrail. Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to help folks out of their vehicles. While the matter is still under investigation, law enforcement says that civil motor vehicle infractions citations will be brought against the first car.

• A Haverhill motor vehicle homicide allegedly took place, killing a woman who was known to care for nearly 200 foster children, collected Christmas gifts for kids and provided meals for the poor at Thanksgiving. She was on her way to church when she was allegedly struck by a drunken driver.

• On Friday, the driver of a car involved in a crash that killed a Framingham State University student this month was charged with Operating Under the Influence and vehicular homicide.

All this…and we have barely had any snow on the ground yet…!

Attorney Sam’s Take Motor Vehicle Crimes And The Holidays

The stories of car accidents and fatalities may not be as exciting to read as the myriad of recent stories concerning sex crimes and other assault and battery cases in schoolyards and locker rooms, but they are no less serious.

For everyone involved.
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Last week, the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog discussed criminal prosecutions which result from unintentional acts. One of the things we discussed was Massachusetts motor vehicle crimes that result from car accidents.

Of course, not all such prosecutions result from mere accidents.

Take an incident at Boston University which occurred last week. There was a road rage incident which really got out of hand and resulted in the arrest of two men on Commonwealth Avenue.

The matter apparently came to the attention of law enforcement while it was in mid-stream. Their attention was first drawn to 42-year-old Nick Miller (hereinafter, “Bike Smasher”) as his vehicle struck a bicyclist. Bike Smasher’s car dragged the bicycle and the victim through a red light. Upon further inspection, they noticed that the car’s windows were broken.

However, this turned up to be the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Apparently, after the bicyclist was struck and dragged, another gentleman entered the scene. Leaving a vehicle on the other side of the intersection came 39-year-old Rocky Jace (hereinafter, “Slugger”). He was carrying a tire iron. He then used the tire iron to smash Bike Smasher’s windshield.

According to witnesses, Bike Smasher and Slugger had been engaged in a road-rage fight before the bike was hit. It was at that time that Slugger apparently broke the rear and side windows of Bike Smasher’s vehicle.

Now, after the striking of the bike, Slugger was back to continue the job.

However, the police on the scene had other ideas. They charged Slugger with Massachusetts Assault and Battery by means of a Dangerous Weapon, Driving to Endanger, Malicious Destruction of Property and various motor vehicle violations. Bike Smasher was charged with assault and battery and malicious destruction of property.

Both gentlemen are apparently from Providence and knew each other from work.

The bicyclist is a recent College of Arts and Sciences graduate. He indicates that he is grateful to be alive and does not remember jumping from his bike, which probably saved him. He reportedly had bruises and scrapes but refused medical attention.
That is not likely to help the resulting civil lawsuit.

The bicycle, according to accounts, was damaged beyond repair.

Attorney Sam’s Take MA Road Rage And Related Crimes

Road Rage, like hate crimes, is a category of crime. The actual offenses, as you can see above, break down to assault, battery, malicious destruction of property and the like.
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