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Oxford man pleads not guilty to manslaughter charges after crash that killed child
Man allegedly stole a Jeep from Gillette Stadium before crashing into a family car, killing a 10-year-old.
The man allegedly behind the deadly crash on Route 1 on Saturday evening was arraigned in Wrentham District Court on Monday, according to court documents.
Michael Escolas, 42, of Oxford, is charged with motor vehicle manslaughter, drinking and driving under the second offense, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation, motor vehicle theft, and nine counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Escolas pleaded not guilty, according to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office. The judge ordered a $100,000 cash bail with conditions that he not drive, be subjected to at-home testing and have no contact with and stay away from the victims and family of the crash.
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Escolas is expected to return to court on September 19 for a probable cause hearing, according to the DA’s office.
The four-vehicle crash killed a 10-year-old child and left multiple people seriously injured, according to Massachusetts State Police records. The police alleged that Escolas was behind the deadly crash.
According to police records, Escolas allegedly stole a Jeep Grand Cherokee from a Gillette Stadium parking lot before he sped down Route 1 southbound while intoxicated.
Escolas allegedly rear-ended a Nissan Altima occupied by a family of six, including a couple and their four children, according to the police. First responders took the family to Rhode Island Hospital, where doctors pronounced the 10-year-old child dead.
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Police are not releasing the name of the child.
Massachusetts State Trooper Timothy Racine reported that he was conducting detail at the Gillette Stadium Kenny Chesney concert when, at around 8:30 p.m., he heard a report of a motor vehicle crash with entrapment at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 495 in Plainville.
Upon arrival at the crash scene, he provided emergency CPR to an unresponsive man. He reported observing troopers providing emergency CPR to a young child who was non-responsive on the side of the Nissan Altima.
Racine reported that he later noticed a man wrapped in a blanket or sweatshirt standing outside a heavy right-side damaged Jeep in the disabled lane. The man, later identified as Escolas, was “shirtless and appeared to be covered in blood,” Racine reported.
Escolas seemed confused about why the car was registered to someone else, saying it was his wife’s. However, police found that the owner was someone else from Vermont.
Escolas declined to take a breathalyzer test. The state police reported that there was a strong odor of alcoholic beverages and that his speech was slurred and slow.
First responders transported Escolas to Rhode Island Hospital and later to the State Police barracks in Foxoboro, where he was booked.
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During a phone conversation with his wife, Racine overhead Escolas, saying, “Still, still one too many, one too many. Messed up.” He also said, “It’s your car.” He appeared confused due to his facial expression and stated, “Huh, you have the car? I really don’t…” and “I’ll find out what I did.”
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