man faces felony homicide count
by cristina silva, globe correspondent |
august 5, 2005
a 67-year-old plymouth man has been
charged with motor vehicle homicide in
allegedly driving drunk and crashing into
the car of a pregnant woman, causing the
death of her 8 1/2-month fetus, officials
said.
Adrien aube was charged this week with
felony vehicular homicide while driving
drunk and negligent driving after he
crashed into several cars while driving on
route 25 in bourne in july, seriously
injuring a pregnant women whose name has
not been disclosed and killing her unborn
child, said brian s. Glenny, first
assistant district attorney for the cape
and islands.
Glenny and other district attorneys in the
commonwealth said that while it was rare
for the death of a fetus to lead to a
vehicular homicide charge, it was not the
first time it has occurred.
''i don't think the circumstances have
arisen for us to have one in a long time,"
glenny said. ''but it is definitely
something that has happened here before."
glenny was referring to the 1984 cape cod
case that led to a state supreme judicial
court finding that a fetus could be
considered a person in a motor vehicle
crime. The court upheld the charge of
motor vehicle homicide against a
barnstable man who struck a pregnant
yarmouth woman with his car, causing the
death of her unborn child.
''it's not common, based on the very
nature of the circumstances," said geline
williams, executive director of the
massachusetts district attorneys
association, explaining that there have
not been many traffic cases in the past
decade involving pregnant women. Charges
based on the death of a fetus in incidents
of violence occur more frequently,
williams said.
For a person to be charged with the death
of a fetus, a medical official must rule
that the fetus was viable, meaning it was
sufficiently developed to survive outside
the womb, glenny said. Medical officials
found that the fetus in the july crash was
viable, glenny said.
Aube had been charged with a misdemeanor
offense of motor vehicle homicide
immediately after the july 17 crash. He
pleaded not guilty to an upgraded charge
of felony motor vehicle homicide on monday
in connection with the unborn child's
death, glenny said. He also faces a
second charge of operating under the
influence, glenny said.
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