A New York man under arrest in connection with a crash in Massachusetts on Christmas that left three people dead is set to face new charges this week, prosecutors said Sunday.
Police say 41-year-old Adam M. Gauthier was drunk when he was driving the wrong way on the Somerset side of the Veteran's Memorial Bridge and struck a car.
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Donna Arruda, 68, had been critically hurt in the crash on Veterans Memorial Bridge, and the woman died days after the crash at Rhode Island Hospital, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. Her husband, 73-year-old Floriano Arruda, and grandson, 15-year-old Jacoby Arruda, previously died at the scene. All three lived in Seekonk.
Gauthier was already facing multiple charges including manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide while under the influence and operating under the influence for allegedly driving the wrong way on the bridge while drunk.
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He's been ordered held on $100,000 cash bail after facing the charges from a hospital bed; his injuries weren't considered life-threatening. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak to the new charges.
Gauthier is now expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Fall River District Court on two new charges of manslaughter and OUI filed in connection to the December 29 death of Donna Arruda.
More on crashes in New England over the Christmas holiday
The crash took place about 11:10 p.m. on the westbound side of the bridge, police have said. Investigators believe Gauthier, who previously lived in Somerset, was driving a 2023 Land Rover SUV toward Fall River when it hit the Arrudas' 2014 Infiniti QX50 SUV head-on, as well as a 2019 Honda Accord with two women inside.
Two women, from Taunton, were hospitalized as well, but are also expected to survive, police have said. They haven't been identified.
"This is a terrible tragedy, especially when it occurred on Christmas night," District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a statement Tuesday. "My heart grieves for the victims and their family for their terrible loss."
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