Massachusetts

Fatal Hit-and-Run Suspect Tried to Repair Damage: Court Docs

Edward Clark was arrested on the same day Allison Donovan was laid to rest

What to Know

  • Norwood resident Edward Clark, 55, was arraigned Friday in the fatal hit-and-run that killed 40-year-old Allison Donovan.
  • Donovan and another woman were hit by a car on Feb. 8 while walking in a crosswalk in Somerville, Massachusetts.
  • A Tufts University officer noticed Clark's truck matched the description of the suspect vehicle police had been searching for.

A driver accused of the fatal hit-and-run crash of a beloved Somerville teacher said he left the scene because he "didn't want to get in trouble," according to prosecutors at his arraignment on Friday.

Edward Clark, 55, pleaded not guilty to the deadly pedestrian crash that killed 40-year-old Allison Donovan, an educator at Watertown Public Schools.

Clark was arraigned on the same day that a candlelight vigil was held for Donovan.

Donovan and another woman were hit by a pickup truck on Feb. 8 at a crosswalk near the intersection of Powderhouse Boulevard and Hardan Road. Donovan was rushed to Mount Auburn Hospital, where she died.

The second woman was treated for non-life threatening injuries and was released from the hospital.

Prosecutors say Clark went to Home Depot to purchase items he could use to repair his truck after the hit-and-run.

A break in the case happened on Thursday, the same day Donovan was laid to rest, after a Tufts University officer spotted Clark's pickup, which matched the description of the suspected vehicle, and notified authorities, according to authorities.

When Somerville police went to the university and found Clark, the Norwood resident initially said he wasn't in the area at the time of the crash, but seemed to be "extremely nervous" as he spoke with investigators and gave them "inconsistent" information, according to court documents.

However, investigators wrote in a police report that there had already been several repairs made to the front end of Clark's pickup truck, which made it hard to determine whether the "damage was consistent with the determined vehicle damage" they expected to see as a result of the deadly crash.

Investigators decided to tail Clark to see his movements after questioning him, and watched him leave work, visit an insurance company location, buy an alcoholic drink at a convenience store and then finally go to a mechanic shop in Malden, court documents stated.

Believing that Clark was trying to repair the damage to his truck and subsequently destroy evidence, officers "approached Clark and seized the vehicle as evidence."

Clark voluntarily went to the police department, where he was interviewed and allegedly told investigators that "he was not honest" with them during their prior conversation.

"Initially he said he thought it may have been a construction cone, a barrel, parked car, or that he had struck the sidewalk, but later in the interview said that he believed he struck a person and was too afraid to stop at the scene, or come forward after he realized the extent of the damage," investigators wrote in the department's police report.

Clark's driving record shows he's been involved in at least eight crashes in the past.

Ryan said Clark was charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death. He may face additional charges.

A judge did not impose bail during Clark's arraignment, but ordered the defendant to wear a GPS bracelet and to not drive.

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