Four years after a crash in South Boston killed a toddler, the trial for the woman police say is responsible is set to begin.
Jury selection began in Charlene Casey's trial in Suffolk Superior Court Tuesday. That process took the day, and opening arguments are expected to start around 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Her trial is centered around a chain reaction crash on L Street in South Boston that happened back in July 2018, that claimed the life of 22-month-old Colin McGrath, and seriously hurt his four-year-old sister as they walked on the sidewalk with their caretaker in the middle of the afternoon.
A grand jury indicted the now 67-year-old defendant on a motor vehicle homicide charge more than a year later.
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Prosecutors allege Casey was behind the wheel of her Prius on East Sixth Street, stopped at the intersection with L Street, when a southbound driver on L Street waved her through the intersection. But, the intersection is only a two way stop, and the van driving northbound did not have a stop sign.
Investigators allege Casey’s Prius crashed into the van, causing it to lose its steering and sending it hurtling toward the sidewalk on L Street. A caretaker was pushing Colin McGrath in his stroller, with his sister walking alongside them, when the van Casey’s car hit jumped the curb and struck all three of them on the sidewalk.
Colin was killed, his sister suffered broken bones and internal injuries, while their caretaker received minor injuries.
During an arraignment in 2019, Casey entered a not guilty plea on the charge.
