Woman was using phone, had no headlights on during fatal East Boston hit-and-run, prosecutors say

A Chelsea woman was arraigned Thursday in connection with a fatal hit-in-run, which killed a pedestrian in East Boston in May.

Gabriella Mendez, 32, was allegedly texting and driving on Bennington Street with no headlights on when she struck 58-year-old pedestrian Alan Martel on May 12, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a release.

Boston police, fire, and EMS responded to the scene shortly before midnight and transported Martel to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment. Two weeks later, on May 26, Martel died as a result of his injuries.

Another driver, who witnessed the hit-and-run, reportedly followed the vehicle involved, a silver Hyundai Sante Fe, and called 911 to report a description of the SUV and the direction it was headed in, the district attorney said.

Police visited the address listed on the vehicle’s registration and were informed that Mendez was the primary driver of the SUV, Hayden said.

She did not go home the night of the crash, according to the district attorney, but police were able to speak with her at one of her places of work the next morning.

Police found the vehicle in the business’s parking lot, reporting that there was apparent damage to the windshield, hood, grill, and passenger-side mirror.

Video surveillance reportedly captured the SUV moving down the street prior to the crash with no headlines on, despite the late hour, Hayden said. The video also showed Martel crossing the street, as he was hit by the vehicle, according to the district attorney.

The video then showed the SUV’s brake lights turn on briefly, but the vehicle did not stop as it continued along Bennington Street and through a red light at the intersection of Bennington and London streets, Hayden said.

The prosecutor also said that evidence points to Mendez allegedly using her phone at the time of the crash.

“No text message, phone call or app is worth the lives and safety of our neighbors,” Hayden said. “The harm that can be inflicted through the decision to prioritize a device over safety — even for only a moment — can never be undone.  My office is available to Mr. Martel’s loved ones and to every survivor of motor vehicle homicide in Suffolk County to provide the support and resources they deserve.”

Mendez appeared in the East Boston Division of Boston Municipal Court for a summons arraignment Thursday on charges of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of a crash causing injury or death, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a motor vehicle lights violation, use of an electronic device (texting) while operating a motor vehicle, and failure to stop/yield to a pedestrian. 

The judge set bail at $500 and ordered Mendez to abide by a curfew and not drive without a valid license while her criminal case is pending, according to the district attorney.

Mendez is scheduled to return to court Oct. 20.

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