A man charged in a hit-and-run crash in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, over the weekend that left a 20-year-old woman dead faced a judge on Wednesday.
The Worcester Country District Attorney's Office alleges that Jerry Santiago, 24, was driving the car that hit 20-year-old Ghufran Mutar and then left the scene. Mutar was crossing Route 9 at the intersection with South Street around 10 p.m. Saturday, having just left work at CVS. She died of her injuries at UMass Memorial Medical Center.
Santiago did not have a valid license, and according to the police report, his girlfriend said that that is why he did not pull over.
Santiago is charged with leaving the scene of personal injury resulting in death, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. He was held in lieu of $50,000 bond and if he is able to post that, he will be subject to GPS monitoring.
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Prosecutors say they identified Santiago after Westborough Police found the involved vehicle, a Dodge Journey, with front passenger side damage. In court Wednesday, they said there was surveillance footage from the scene. They said that video showed him pull into a car dealership and pull off a piece of the damaged car while his girlfriend threw out a bottle, later identified as a tequila bottle, filled with pink liquid.
His family was in Westborough District Court watching the arraignment.
"The family has no comment. We feel for the other family," one family member said.
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His defense attorney said the circumstances of the crash are still not clear.
"It appears that he does not have an extensive history of a record. Let alone an extensive history of any sort of major driving offenses your honor," he said in court.
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