BOSTON (WHDH) - The family of a woman killed in a pedestrian crash in Boston last year is speaking out after learning the man behind the wheel could possibly see less time in jail.
Lisa Ann Vadeboncoeur was 59 when she was hit and killed by a vehicle driven by Kevin McCaffrey. A grand jury later indicted McCaffrey on vehicular homicide, operating under the influence of drugs and negligent driving charges. The Bellingham resident pleaded not guilty at the time.
Now, though, as the case goes to court on Monday, Sept. 12, McCaffrey may soon be entering a guilty plea for a reduced sentence, a move that is reopening wounds the Vadeboncoeur family have been dealing with for nearly a year.
“You took our sister, you should pay,” said Kim Alpert, the victim’s sister.
At a recent hearing, the state asked for 7 to 10 years for McCaffrey, while the defense asked for 2 1/2 years. The case’s judge indicated a decision will likely be somewhere in the middle.
“Four to five years for taking someone’s life, someone that’s never going to be able to see the light of day again, never going to be experiencing the love for her grandkids, you know, or to do her own things,” said Kevin Vadeboncoeur, the victim’s son. “Giving someone four to five years in prison just, like, it just doesn’t cut it with me.”
Vadeboncoeur’s family spoke with 7NEWS at the Haverhill cemetery where Lisa was buried. Almost a year after her death, they said they are still in mourning
“My daughter’s now 3 years old, I’m about to have a new son on the way – she got taken from me way too soon,” he said. “I just feel like my family’s got robbed.”
In video from October 2021 obtained exclusively by 7NEWS, police said Kevin McCaffrey could be seen whipping around Theodore Glynn Way as a group of people walked by an officer’s cruiser. The car slammed into three people, ultimately killing Lisa Vadeboncoeur.
“It was a total shocker – she was just on her way to do laundry,” said Karen Cain, her sister. “It’s not where she lived, it’s not where she was, she just needed to do laundry with her friends.”
In a map submitted in court, police detailed how McCaffrey repeatedly looped around Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, where there is open drug use.
Investigators said surveillance photos showed McCaffrey pulled his vehicle red Honda Civic into a McDonald’s for over two minutes before the crash. Prosecutors said his blood work showed fentanyl and cocaine in his system.
“He chose to do drugs and drive – that’s not an accident,” Cain told 7NEWS.
Court paperwork detailed a recorded phone call McCaffrey made from jail after the crush. In it, he said:
“I understand the girl’s family is hurt… it was tragic, but here’s the thing… the girl wasn’t just – it’s not just like a normal citizen… She was getting high, too.”
“I think he’s trying to justify himself in a way that just sounds really terrible,” Alper said.
McCaffrey’s attorney did not want to comment on a potential guilty plea, telling 7NEWS the matter should play out in court.
Lisa’s family said she was living in a sober house at the time of the crash, and that her life and death should not be diminished based on where her death happened.
“She was special,” Cain said. “She was special to all of us.”
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