Press release from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office:
Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan has announced that a Middlesex County Grand Jury has indicted Bradford Casler, 55, of Newton, today on two counts of motor vehicle homicide and one count of operating a motor vehicle to endanger in connection with the fatal crash that occurred at Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant in Newton.
On March 1, 2016 at approximately 6:12 p.m. Bradford Casler was allegedly operating a Volkswagen Touareg Sport Utility Vehicle traveling down Chestnut Street in Newton when he allegedly crossed over Washington Street colliding with several cars on Washington Street and ultimately traveling through the front of Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant.
Two victims, Gregory D. Morin, 32, of Newton, and Eleanor Miele, 57, of Watertown, were both pronounced dead at the scene and seven other individuals sustained serious injuries.
Newton Police immediately responded to reports of the crash and multiple witnesses reported the incident to 911. Following the crash, Casler’s driver’s license was revoked as an immediate threat.
This incident was investigated by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, the Newton Police Department, the Newton Police Department Traffic Bureau and the State Police CARS unit. Detectives from the Massachusetts State Police assisted in the investigation.
Casler will be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court at a future date which has not yet been determined.
These charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The prosecutors assigned to this case are Assistant District Attorneys Christopher Tarrant and Melissa Baima. The Victim Witness Advocate is Kristin Dagnelli.
Here are the stories from the Boston Globe and wickedlocalnewton.com
Why the hell did it take so long to charge this guy???
Grand jury reviewing medical evidence is my best guess.
I guess the answer to my initial question is 6 to 7 months.
Also, crash investigation/reconstruction takes time. The data from that is also technical and takes time for the grand jury to review.
I’d much rather have the investigation take longer but be done right, with solid evidence that will stand up in court, than have a hasty indictment that goes nowhere.
I am curious as to how the investigation or its resolution is anything but the business of the those involved.
The whole conversation here strikes me as typical Newtonian busybodyness. I’m just waiting to see Edna Kravitz’s post on the topic.
Speaking for myself:
This accident took place at an establishment that my family has gone into and supported on a bi-weekly basis since the day it opened. The counter staff were youthful, enthusiastic and always helpful and pleasant. I’ve sat at the front stools near the window with my son-in-law, and have had conversations with many other people inside that location, stood at the front counter near the cookie jar waiting for my pizza (feta pesto!) for what has totaled literally hours of being inside there.
Due to the randomness of life, two other people doing the same thing lost their lives and several others were seriously injured.
My interest is in wanting to know what can be done in the future to prevent this from occurring again and hopefully learn from this horrible tragedy, up to and including learning the condition of the driver so that perhaps we can ponder what we as a society may need to do with those among us who drive with severe medical conditions and for how long. A debate worth having.
The day of the accident, a short FIFTEEN minutes before the accident happened, my daughter WALKED IN FRONT OF THAT RESTAURANT with my granddaughter in her stroller. Please forgive me for caring about the safety of my family and those in my neighborhood.
So Elmo, should people stop discussing all crimes – even those that happen in their own neighborhood, to their own neighbors – if they are not personally involved? If two innocent people were murdered with a gun in Newton, would you say the same thing about that investigation and resolution?
Everything about this story just makes me sad. Lives were destroyed or ruined. Our communal sense of security here in West Newton was shattered because so many of us had some sort of a connection to Sweet Tomatoes, the people that worked there, the people who were in the restaurant that awful night, and the people who were lost. Many of us know the driver as well.
After I heard about the crash, as I was rushing to get to West Newton Square, I was frantically trying to call my son who said he was going to grab a slice at Sweet Tomatoes on his way to work after voting. It was one of the longest half hours of my life waiting to hear from him, and I was relieved when I found out he was safe. Moments later, I was moved to tears when I learned from a police officer on the scene that two people had lost their lives and that others had been grievously injured.
Sweet Tomatoes was and is part of our community, and in the hours and days that followed, I spoke with many neighbors and business owners in the square who were deeply affected by what had happened. My heart goes out to everyone who was touched by this tragedy, in whatever way, and I hope that as a community we can all continue to pull together and support one another as well as the victims, their families and friends.