Current:Home > NewsPassenger who survived fiery crash that claimed 4 lives is facing charges-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Passenger who survived fiery crash that claimed 4 lives is facing charges
View Date:2024-12-24 04:12:56
ELLSWORTH, Maine (AP) — A woman who survived a fiery crash that claimed the lives of four Maine Maritime Academy students has been charged as an “accomplice or co-conspirator” in connection with the tragedy.
Noelle Tavares, 20, of North Falmouth, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty this week to charges of manslaughter, aggravated operating under the influence, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, driving to endanger and reckless speed.
Hancock County District Attorney Robert Granger said Friday the grand jury found probable cause of “accomplice liability” attached to the charges, meaning she’s accused of facilitating the conduct that led to the tragedy even though she wasn’t the driver. Granger declined in an email to comment on Tavares’ actions that provided the basis for the charges.
Tavares’ lawyer didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The driver, Joshua Goncalves-Radding, of North Babylon, New York, was traveling at between 106 mph and 111 mph (170 kph and 179 kph) before the SUV struck a tree and caught fire last December, law enforcement officials said. Goncalves-Radding already pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, aggravated drunken driving and other charges in May.
The Land Rover the students were riding in was owned by the father of the third survivor, Dominick Gecoya, of Middleton, Massachusetts, Granger said. Gecoya was charged under the accomplice liability provision in June, Granger said.
Killed were Brian Kenealy, 20, of York, Maine; Chase Fossett, 21, of Gardiner, Maine; Luke Simpson, 22, of Rockport, Massachusetts; and Riley Ignacio-Cameron, 20, of Aquinnah, Massachusetts, officials said.
Accomplice liability charges are rare but not unprecedented in Maine.
In the early 1990s, a motorist who was too drunk to drive was convicted under those provisions after giving his keys to a drunk passenger who ended up being charged with drunken driving. Maine’s supreme court concluded the driver knew his passenger was drunk but encouraged him to drive because he was the “soberer” of the two.
Maine law says someone can be charged with promoting or facilitating a crime if he or she “solicits such other person to commit the crime, or aids or agrees to aid or attempts to aid such other person in planning or committing the crime,” the court said.
veryGood! (1525)
Related
- Saving for retirement? How to account for Social Security benefits
- New Questions about Toxic By-Products of Biofuel Combustion
- Traffic Deaths Are At A 20-Year High. What Makes Roads Safe (Or Not)?
- All the Jaw-Dropping Fascinators Worn to King Charles III’s Coronation
- Kennesaw State football coach Brian Bohannon steps down after 10 seasons amid first year in FBS
- Bernie Sanders’ Climate Plan: Huge Emissions Cuts, Emphasis on Environmental Justice
- Kate Middleton's Look at King Charles III and Queen Camilla's Coronation Is Fit for a Princess
- Flash Deal: Save $261 on a Fitnation Foldable Treadmill Bundle
- Judith Jamison, a dancer both eloquent and elegant, led Ailey troupe to success over two decades
- Damaris Phillips Shares the Kitchen Essential She’ll Never Stop Buying and Her Kentucky Derby Must-Haves
Ranking
- Let Demi Moore’s Iconic Fashion Give You More Inspiration
- Encore: A new hard hat could help protect workers from on-the-job brain injuries
- Are Electric Vehicles Leaving Mass Transit in the Shadows?
- Katie Couric says she's been treated for breast cancer
- The White Stripes drop lawsuit against Donald Trump over 'Seven Nation Army' use
- Earthquakes at Wastewater Injection Site Give Oklahomans Jolt into New Year
- Climber celebrating 80th birthday found dead on Mount Rainier
- Overlooked Tiny Air Pollutants Can Have Major Climate Impact
Recommendation
-
FanDuel Sports Network regional channels will be available as add-on subscription on Prime Video
-
Today’s Climate: June 9, 2010
-
Supreme Court Halts Clean Power Plan, with Implications Far Beyond the U.S.
-
A new lawsuit is challenging Florida Medicaid's exclusion of transgender health care
-
Gerry Faust, former Notre Dame football coach, dies at 89
-
Here's what the FDA says contributed to the baby formula shortage crisis
-
Why Ryan Reynolds is telling people to get a colonoscopy
-
Busting 5 common myths about water and hydration