BOSTON (WHDH) - A motorist who mowed down three pedestrians near Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard in Boston, leaving a woman dead, told police after the crash that he was under the influence of cocaine, authorities said.
Surveillance video shows a car driven by 46-year-old Kevin McCaffrey, of Bellingham, whipping around Theodore Glynn Way in Roxbury before crashing into the pedestrians, who were walking on the side of the road on Saturday morning.
The impact of the crash was so forceful that 59-year-old Lisa Vadeboncoeur died and the two other pedestrians were injured, according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office.
Vadeboncoeur, a native of Haverhill, is being remembered in her obituary as a mother, a grandmother, and a great cook who enjoyed family parties and camping trips.
A police report revealed McCaffrey was “witnessed falling asleep and nodding off” as detectives tried to interview him, the DA’s office said. McCaffrey then allegedly admitted that “he had taken cocaine prior to operating the vehicle to try to keep him awake.”
“Down here, you don’t know who is impaired and who is not impaired driving through here,” Newmarket Business Association Director Sue Sullivan said. “This is a major thoroughfare…It’s horrific. Every single day I’m concerned somebody is going to get hit just like that.”
The crash happened just steps away from the troubled area along Mass. Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, where people struggling with drug addiction and homelessness congregate.
The nonprofit group Support the Soupman drove its bus to the area to hand out food and toiletries to people on the street.
“I was devastated. I’m still devastated four years later,” said Support the Soupman founder Peter Kelleher, who lost his son, Travis, to drugs four years ago. “He is my passion. Travis is my drive.”
On Tuesday, Boston Mayor Kim Janey announced plans to remove the tents that line the area in the hopes that it will solve some of the problems there.
McCaffrey has since been arraigned on charges including motor vehicle homicide by operating under the influence of drugs, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
He is being held on bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Friday.
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