A man was charged in a hit-and-run crash that killed a man pushing a wheelchair in Boston last month, prosecutors said.
Abner Jean-Baptiste, a 36-year-old from Roxbury, was charged Thursday with motor vehicle homicide by negligence and leaving the scene of a crash, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office announced Friday.
Investigators tracked the SUV that hit Michael E. Simpson, killing him, while he crossed the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard on the night of Jan. 20 to Jean-Baptiste, investigators said. The vehicle had damage to the hood, and Jean-Baptiste told officers he was driving there at the time and felt his vehicle drive over something.
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After towing the vehicle and obtaining a warrant to search inside, police obtained an arrest warrant for Jean-Baptiste.
"This is a tragic incident made even more tragic by the driver's decision to leave the scene. Anyone thinking they can escape responsibility by driving away after an incident like this is making a massive misjudgment," District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.
At a hearing in Boston Municipal Court Thursday, Jean-Baptiste was released on bail on the condition he not drive, prosecutors said. He's due back in court April 13; it wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak to the charges.
Witnesses said Simpson was walking and pushing a wheelchair when he was hit about 10:35 p.m., prosecutors have said. Surveillance video and witness information led investigators to locate locating the vehicle of interest.
People who witnessed the crash had said that the person who was hit was dragged several blocks before the driver took off. "It was hard," Terrance Rosario said of what he witnessed, getting emotional the night after the crash.
Rosario was on the job, working as a security guard at a nearby hotel when he saw a man get hit by a car, he said.
"It was just unbelievable," Rosario recalled. "He hit the guy and the guy went underneath the car. The guy was screaming."
Rosario said the victim was pushing a wheelchair, trying to get across the street, when he was hit and then dragged down the road. Rosario said he tried to run after the car but the driver took off.
Rosario said the victim was unhoused and that he used to see him around often, even speaking to the man just about an hour before the fatal crash.
"It was 20 degrees last night, it was cold, it was really cold out, and I gave him a couple bucks to get something at McDonald's, and I give him a coffee, and I tell him I'd see him later, take care and stay warm," Rosario said.
The area, known from the street names as Mass. and Cass, has long attracted unhoused people, as well as drug use and violence. Last year, Mayor Michelle Wu began clearing unhoused people from encampments in the area after offering services and housing options to residents.
