WORCESTER – A Worcester man and woman have been charged in connection with a fatal crash on Route 9 in Shrewsbury in October.
Ghufran Mutar, 20, of Shrewsbury, was crossing the Boston Turnpike (Route 9) at the South Street intersection shortly after 10:00 p.m. on Oct. 30, on her way home from work at CVS at 720 Boston Turnpike, when she was struck , according to the authorities .
The investigation resulted in a complaint against two people, the driver of the car and a passenger.
The driver, Jerry Santiago Jr., 25, last known address of 98 Green Hill Parkway in Worcester, was indicted on Friday by a Worcester grand jury, according to Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.’s office. they are vehicular homicide, vehicular homicide by reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident with bodily injury resulting in death, dangerous driving and driving without a license.
A passenger, Justina Riopelle, 22, was also indicted for complicity after the event.
Both will be arraigned in Worcester Superior Court at a later date.
Mutar was rushed to UMass Memorial Medical Center – University Worcester Campus with serious injuries. She was pronounced dead in the hospital two hours later, according to state police.
Shrewsbury Police interviewed several witnesses and learned that Mutar had been hit by a vehicle traveling at high speed on eastbound Route 9. The vehicle that struck Mutar stopped for a short time and took off at full speed, according to the police report.
Witnesses saw the vehicle pull into the parking lot of Shrewsbury’s Wagner Mercedes-Benz at 760 Boston Turnpike (Route 9).
Shrewsbury Police have obtained surveillance video from the car dealership which showed a “heavy-bodied” man exiting the driver’s side of the vehicle and assessing damage to the front passenger side bumper, headlight and windscreen, according to the police report. .
On October 31, Westborough Police spotted a gray 2011 Dodge Journey with heavy front end damage parked at the Extended Stay America Suites at 1800 Computer Drive, Westborough.
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The owner of the vehicle was Riopelle’s mother.
In an interview with Shrewsbury Police, Riopelle identified Santiago, her boyfriend, as the driver of the vehicle at the time of the crash, according to the police report.
Riopelle told police she and Santiago both knew they had hit someone at the time of the crash, but didn’t stop. She also said that Santiago refused to return to the scene of the accident because he did not have a driver’s license, according to the report.
Santiago was originally arraigned Nov. 2 in Westborough District Court. He remains in custody after bail was set at $50,000.
This article originally appeared in Telegram & Gazette: Man and woman charged in crash that killed Gufran Mutar in Shrewsbury
