On Sunday, December 12, 2010, Cynthia Anne Ray, a thirty-year-old Haverhill woman, was struck and killed by a car driven by an alleged drunk driver. Ms. Ray was walking to the Massachusetts State Police Barracks in Andover to pick up a police report relating to a minor motor vehicle crash involving her relative.
Details of the Car-Pedestrian Incident
According to published reports, Ms. Ray was at the barracks with her mother and was walking in the parking lot towards the police station. A Chevy pickup, driven by fifty-year-old Robert V. Bryant, crashed into Ms. Ray and allegedly left the accident site.
Mr. Bryant was apprehended a short distance from the scene by State Police Troopers. He reportedly failed three field sobriety tests, stumbled as he was getting out of his car, and refused to take a breath test. He told a Trooper “off the record” that he drank beers at a friend’s house and did not even realize he had struck a pedestrian. He was arraigned at Lawrence District Court and held on $50,000.00 cash bail.
Potential Liability Claims
This is yet another tragic example of the devastation that driving under the influence of alcohol can cause. While Mr. Bryant is certainly entitled to the presumption of innocence on his criminal matter, there is a strong case of liability against him for his allegedly reckless and negligent act. Additionally, there could be a claim of negligence against the person or establishment that provided him with alcoholic beverages before he got behind the wheel of his car.
We at Mazow|McCullough, PC express our deepest sympathies to the family of Ms. Ray for their devastating loss.
