Massachusetts driver not charged in 2nd pedestrian accident

Most drivers in Massachusetts don’t ever want to be the subject of an investigation into the death of a pedestrian. So it would probably shock many people to know that there is a driver in Springfield that has now been cleared in the death of two people that he ran down with his car. The most recent pedestrian accident took the life of another man.

The most recent accident involved at 61-year-old man. The investigation by the Springfield Police Department indicated that the driver was not at fault, was not speeding and was not impaired in any way. This finding is eerily similar to the findings of the West Springfield Police Department in the driver’s first pedestrian accident where he struck and killed a 42-year-old woman within a few miles of this most recent accident.

The Massachusetts man is not facing charges in either death. As it turns out, the driver’s brother is a police officer with the City of Springfield. There are some who are questioning whether this relationship has influenced the outcome of these two investigations.

The families of these two victims do retain the right to file wrongful death claims against the driver. Ordinarily, a police report would be an influential factor in whether a family decides to exercise that right. Little is known about the family of the first victim, but now that there has been a second pedestrian accident with findings that are too close for comfort, it may be possible to convince a civil court that the driver is, in fact, responsible for the deaths of these two people. If the families decide to file, it will be up to the court to determine whether this driver was given preferential treatment in the investigations.

Source: wggb.com, “Police: Driver In Deadly Springfield Accident Won’t Face Charges,” June 20, 2013