Driver pleads guilty in 2020 crash that killed girl in Westport

A man has pleaded guilty to a charge of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation in a September 2020 crash that left a 10-year-old girl dead and seriously hurt her sister in Westport, Massachusetts, authorities said Wednesday.

Robert Silvia, a 33-year-old from Fall River, pleaded guilty on Oct. 30, just before his trial was due to start in Fall River District Court, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. The judge sentenced him to two-and-a-half years in prison, with one year suspended.

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The Sept. 13, 2020 crash, at about 2:15 a.m., killed Anilda De Barros Ribeiro. She her 9-year-old sister were both rushed to the hospital after the second of two crashes within hours near the Rhode Island border.

Westport police said at the time that they received "several frantic 911 calls" about a crash at the intersection of Routes 6 and 88 that involved children.

Anilda was in the back seat of her father's Subaru, which had been in a fender-bender and was parked in the left lane of Route 6 with its hazard lights on, prosecutors said Wednesday. A Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Silvia slammed into the Subaru, throwing Anilda into the dashboard.

Silvia would tell state police investigators that he'd reached for a cigarette and lighter when the crash took place, and video evidence showed he'd lied about where he was before the crash and about a hand injury that limited his ability to drive, prosecutors said. Forensics experts found he would have had 300 feet to avoid the Subaru or stop his SUV, but there was no evidence of braking or swerving.

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Prosecutors said Silvia informed the court he wanted to plead guilty just before the jurors were due to be brought into the courtroom.

"This was a terrible tragedy that occurred because of the defendant's negligence. I hope that the victim’s family can have some consolation and closure from the defendant's guilty plea, admitting that he caused the young girl's death. The jail sentence imposed by the court was appropriate," District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a statement.

Along with the jail time — Silvia will be required to serve all two-and-a-half years if he is charged with a new crime during the two year pendency of his suspended year — the judge revoked Silvia's driver's license for 15 years, prosecutors said.

Seven people in all were sent to hospitals in Fall River, New Bedford and Providence, officials said at the time.