Driver grabs dog and runs after causing crash that killed woman, Massachusetts cops say
A 19-year-old driver grabbed his dog and fled on foot after running a red light, causing a crash that killed a woman in Massachusetts, police said.
He drove the car with a suspended license.
Anderson Nova was “negligently” driving a 2022 Buick Enclave rental car “at an excessive rate of speed” before slamming into 53-year-old Dina Donahue’s Honda Civic around 10 p.m. on Dec. 13 in Brighton, state police said in a Dec. 14 news release.
Donahue, of Topsham, Maine, died shortly after being taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Nova, who’s from Randolph, 17 miles south of Boston, was arrested when state troopers caught him while carrying his dog, according to authorities.
Inside the car, which was determined to be rented by someone else for Nova, police found stolen checks and credit cards, they said.
Nova initially caught the attention of state police after speeding by one of their cruisers driving in the opposite direction.
Police turned the cruiser around “but lost sight of the fleeing vehicle and did not engage in a pursuit,” the release said.
While driving in the same direction, troopers saw “smoke rising from the intersection of Birmingham Parkway and Western Avenue” and when they got there, they found Donahue’s broadsided Civic and Nova running away, according to police.
An investigation determined Donahue proceeded after a green light into the intersection while Nova ran a red light, striking her driver’s side door, police said.
Boston Fire and EMS arrived on scene alongside state police and Donahue was taken to Beth Israel Hospital, where she died.
Nova sustained minor injuries and was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he was released Dec. 14, according to authorities, and then booked at the State-Police Boston Barracks.
Police said they charged him with:
- motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation
- negligent operation of a motor vehicle
- operating after suspension
- speeding
- leaving the scene of a crash causing personal injury or death
- receiving stolen property
- using a motor vehicle without authority
He was due for arraignment on Dec. 14 in the Brighton Division of the Boston Municipal Court, police said, and he pleaded not guilty, CBS Boston reported.
The judge Nova placed on a $100,000 bail and he is to appear in court again on Feb. 2, according to the outlet.
McClatchy News reached out to state police for comment on Dec. 14 and was awaiting a response.
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Driver grabs dog and runs after causing crash that killed woman, Massachusetts cops say."
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