A Massachusetts man faced a judge Monday in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash earlier this month in Everett.
Wilbert Charles, 34, of Everett, appeared in Malden District Court on charges of motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of an accident after causing death and operating to endanger. Not guilty pleas were entered on Charles' behalf.
The charges are in connection with the Oct. 2 crash that resulted in the death of 59-year-old Michael Delp.
Police had been seeking to identify a suspect since the crash, which occurred around 5:52 p.m. near the 600 block of Broadway. When officers arrived, they found Delp unresponsive. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"Mr. Delp is killed almost instantly. There are never any brakes," Middlesex County Assistant District Attorney Lee Hettinger said in court.
The crash was captured on surveillance footage. A motorcyclist could be seen riding down Broadway in Everett when a car comes up from behind, hits him, and drives off.
"You can see the person responsible keep going," the man who recorded the video told NBC10 Boston at the time. "There's a lot of questions from our perspective how and why it happened."
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Prosecutors said a preliminary investigation shows that Charles was driving behind Delp on Broadway when he accelerated, striking the motorcycle from behind and causing Delp to fall off the bike.
"One of the cameras catches the Nissan Rogue going up and over both a motorcycle and Mr. Delp to the point where the rear suspension of the Nissan Rogue leaves the ground and is airborne," Hettinger said.
Charles then allegedly struck Delp again before fleeing.
Pictures taken after the crash show the Harley-Davidson's taillight knocked out and the left blinker gone. The matching helmet appears to have been dragged across the ground.
Investigators say Charles drove to his home around the corner after the crash and returned a couple of times on foot, but never stopped to tell police what happened. Police tracked the Charles to his home shortly after the crash with a license plate that had come off his vehicle.
Defense Attorney Philip LaMonica said Charles has no criminal record and turned himself into police.
"My client reached out to me the next morning... Voluntarily and to cooperate," LaMonica said.
Charles was released on personal recognizance and is due back in court in December.
