BRIDGEWATER, MASS. (WHDH) - A man accused of hitting and killing an elderly motorcyclist in Bridgewater Thursday is facing criminal charges after investigators determined he was operating while under the influence of drugs with a child passenger, officials said.
Anthony Hathaway, 29, of Whitman, is expected to be arraigned Friday in Brockton District Court on charges including motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of drugs, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs, endangering a child while operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs, and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
Officers responding to a motor vehicle crash on Bedford Street around 11:50 a.m. found a Toyota sedan and motorcycle badly damaged, Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte and Fire Chief Thomas Levy said in a joint statement.
The motorcyclist, 71-year-old Richard Silva, of Brockton, was taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Hathaway, the driver of the sedan, stayed on the scene with his 7-year-old passenger, police said.
“Obviously having a youngster in the vehicle, operating in the manner that he was, and we allege he was doing it under the influence, is particularly troubling,” Delmonte said.
Police say the child was OK and placed into the care of his mother.
Witness Paul Mancinelli claims Hathaway almost hit him after slamming into the motorcyclist and colliding with several other cars.
“He hit this car. His tires fall off, thank God, because if not, I probably would have been hit, pinned over there underneath the truck,” he said.
Bridgewater police are still investigating the crash.
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