Man pleads not guilty in crash that killed girl, 11
A Lawrence man sobbing openly during a hospital bed arraignment Monday after losing control of his car and killing an 11-yearold girl Saturday, pleaded not guilty to motor vehicle homicide and other charges at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Selvin Manuel Lima, 23, is charged with 10 counts related to the fatal crash, including manslaughter and vehicular homicide by reckless operation. The crash killed Taysha Rohena Silva, 11, of Peabody and sent her 8-year-old sister, 15-year-old cousin, her mother and mother’s boyfriend to various hospitals with serious injuries.
Lima laid in the hospital bed at the ICU at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, sobbing as Essex Assistant District Attorney Kate MacDougall detailed the crash and events leading up to it.
“The officer that responded to the motor vehicle accident described it as horrific, he couldn’t even begin to figure out who to help first,” MacDougall said. “The accident was so bad, initially there was a misunderstanding of the age of the child.”
On Saturday, Lawrence police had attempted to pull Lima over about 5:30 p.m. near South Union Street and Winthrop Avenue for speeding and driving erratically. When officers approached his car, Lima took off at “a high rate of speed,” MacDougall said.
Almost immediately after he fled, police dispatchers reported a catastrophic crash a few blocks away, she continued.
Lima lost control of his 2009 Infiniti G37 and crossed into a southbound lane on Route 114, striking a 2016 Honda Civic, according to the DA’s office. He had turned onto Winthrop Avenue and lost control of the vehicle as he approached the intersection of Winthrop Avenue and Andover Street, colliding with the Civic, prosecutors said.
Silva was rushed to Lawrence General Hospital where she was later pronounced dead. The other four victims remain hospitalized.
MacDougall said based on the investigation, prosecutors anticipate “the charges will be upgraded in a number of ways based on the overall facts and the defendant’s actions towards police since he has been in the hospital.”
Lima is charged with manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, operating after license suspension, failing to stop for a police officer, marked lanes violation, and speeding.
He is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Thursday.