BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A Pembroke woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to motor vehicle homicide charges after authorities say she caused a crash involving an SUV and dump truck in Brockton that resulted in the death of a 58-year-old Bridgewater woman.
“She was a loving wife. She can’t ever be replaced,” Manny Combra said after learning his wife had been killed Tuesday in crash. “We were married 40 years. There are no words to describe her.”
The crash happened Tuesday around 2 p.m. near North Quincy Street when police said an Audi traveling north rear-ended an SUV driven by Deborah Combra. Police said her SUV swerved into the southbound lane, causing a dump truck to flip on its side.
Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said the truck, carrying 22 tons of dirt, landed 6 inches from a house. Cruz added that the truck clipped the SUV, killing Combra.
Police said the woman behind the wheel of the Audi, 33-year-old Danielle Mastro, got out of the car and walked away from the scene. Mastro was found shortly after and charged by police.
Prosecutors said Mastro was on the phone with her drug dealer and drinking alcohol when she crashed into the SUV. Mastro allegedly left the scene in an effort to score $50 worth of heroin.
“She stated that she was calling and texting her drug dealer. She stated that she was ‘dope-sick’ and that she was trying to by narcotics,” prosecutor Dan Jimenez told the court.
Mastro’s attorney Alison King said she had been clean for “a period of time” but that she has since relapsed and is now “struggling.”
Chief Scott D. Benton of the Whitman Police Department said Combra was the mother of auxiliary officer Michael Combra.
“On behalf of the Whitman Police Department and the entire community of Whitman, I offer my sincere condolences to Officer Combra and his family during this extremely difficult time,” said Benton. “Earlier this evening, I notified the department about what has occurred, and I have asked the members of our department to please keep Officer Combra and his family in their thoughts and prayers.”
Mastro was ordered held on $50,000 bail. She is due back in court at a later date.
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