Man and woman charged in fatal Shrewsbury hit-and-run crash
WORCESTER — A Worcester man and woman were indicted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash on Route 9 in Shrewsbury in October.
Ghufran Mutar, 20, of Shrewsbury, was crossing Boston Turnpike (Route 9) at the South Street intersection just after 10 p.m. Oct. 30, on her way home from work at CVS at 720 Boston Turnpike, when she was struck, according to authorities.
The investigation resulted in charges against two people, the driver of the car and a passenger.
The driver, Jerry Santiago Jr., 25, last known address 98 Green Hill Parkway in Worcester, was indicted by a Worcester grand jury Friday, according to the office of Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. The charges are motor vehicle homicide, motor vehicle homicide by reckless driving, leaving the scene of a personal injury crash resulting in death, driving as to endanger and driving a motor vehicle without a license.
A passenger, Justina Riopelle, 22, was also indicted for being an accessory after the fact.
Both will be arraigned in Worcester Superior Court at a later date.
Mutar was rushed to UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus in Worcester with severe injuries. She was pronounced dead at the hospital two hours later, according to state police.
Shrewsbury police interviewed several witnesses and learned that Mutar had been struck by a vehicle that was traveling at a high rate of speed on Route 9 eastbound. The vehicle that struck Mutar stopped for a short time and sped off, according to the police report.
Witnesses saw the vehicle pull into the parking lot of Wagner Mercedes-Benz of Shrewsbury at 760 Boston Turnpike (Route 9).
Shrewsbury police obtained surveillance video from the car dealership that showed a “heavy-set” male get out of the driver’s side of the vehicle and assess damage to the front passenger side bumper, headlight and windshield, according to the police report.
On Oct. 31, Westborough police located a gray 2011 Dodge Journey with heavy front-end damage parked at the Extended Stay America Suites at 1800 Computer Drive, Westborough.
Riopelle’s mother was the owner of the vehicle.
In an interview with Shrewsbury police, Riopelle identified Santiago, her boyfriend, as the driver of the vehicle at the time of the crash, according to the police report.
Riopelle told police that she and Santiago both knew they had struck a person at the time of the crash but did not stop. She also said Santiago refused to go back to the crash scene since he did not have a driver’s license, according to the report.
Santiago was originally arraigned Nov. 2 in Westborough District Court. He remains in custody after bail was set then at $50,000.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Man and woman indicted in crash that killed Gufran Mutar in Shrewsbury
