A jury found a woman guilty of motor vehicle homicide in the death of a toddler and serious injury of his sister four years ago in South Boston.
Charlene Casey, 67, was behind the wheel of the car that hit the two children, Colin and Sloane McGrath, in a chain reaction crash on L Street in July 2018. Prosecutors alleged she drove negligently.
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Casey will return to court for sentencing. She faces up to two-and-a-half years in prison.
The jury began deliberating Tuesday, after the two sides made closing arguments, and asked the judge a question Wednesday about whether or not the right of way changes once someone enters an intersection.
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Prosecutors allege Casey was behind the wheel of her Prius on East Sixth Street, stopped at the intersection with L Street, when a southbound driver on L Street waved her through the intersection. But, the intersection is only a two-way stop, and the van driving northbound did not have a stop sign.
Investigators allege Casey’s Prius crashed into the van, causing it to lose its steering and sending it hurtling toward the sidewalk on L Street. A caretaker was pushing Colin McGrath in his stroller, with his sister walking alongside them, when the van Casey’s car hit jumped the curb and struck all three of them on the sidewalk.
Casey's attorneys argued that she acted reasonably and that all accidents don't necessarily involve negligence. The prosecution countered that Casey did drive negligently, and called what happened a disaster.
Before closing arguments in Suffolk Superior Court Tuesday, the defense called witnesses to the stand, including Kevin Bui, who said that he waved Casey through the intersection on the day of the crash. He said they made eye contact. Then, he said he waved to her to go, she nudged out and then hit the van that would ultimately hit the children.
"All of a sudden, the van came out of nowhere," he said. "It had to be going at least 20 miles over the speed limit."
Bui said "absolutely not" when the defense asked if he would've waived Casey through the intersection if he had he seen the van.
After Bui's testimony, jurors left the courtroom to view the scene.
