Another passenger indicted in Maine crash that killed 4 people
By Adam Bartow
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ELLSWORTH, Maine (WMTW) — Another person who survived a crash that killed four Maine Maritime Academy students last December has been indicted.
A Hancock County Grand Jury indicted Noelle Tavares, 21, of Massachusetts, on Friday on four counts of manslaughter, four counts of aggravated operating under the influence, two counts of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, and criminal speed.
Tavares was a passenger in the car and one of three people who survived the crash.
Hancock County District Attorney Robert Granger says their investigation uncovered additional evidence that Tavares “aided in the unlawful conduct which directly contributed to the tragic crash and the deaths of the four young men.”
Granger says the indictment of Tavares is “premised on accomplice liability.”
An arrest warrant was issued for Tavares following Friday’s indictment.
The four students who died in the crash were Brian Kenealy, 20, of York, Maine; Chase Fossett, 21, of Gardiner, Maine; Luke Simpson, 22, of Rockport, Massachusetts; and Riley Ignacio-Cameron, 20, of Aquinnah, Massachusetts, officials said.
Authorities have said speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, and the vehicle was traveling between 106 and 111 miles per hour at the time.
The driver, Joshua Goncalves-Radding, and another passenger, Dominick Gecoya, were facing the same charges as Tavares, but Granger said Friday the charges against Gecoya have been dismissed “in the interest of justice.”
He says as facts developed in the case, they no longer supported the charges against Gecoya as the owner of the vehicle.
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