Local News
Margie Mendez, 86, was running errands in Chestnut Hill on Jan. 15 when she was struck by a trooper making a right turn onto Route 9.
The family of an 86-year-old Brookline woman who died months after a police cruiser struck her as she crossed the street is suing the Massachusetts State Police.
The lawsuit alleges negligence and wrongful death in the passing of Margie Mendez, according to Brookline News.
Mendez was hit as she crossed a Route 9 crosswalk while running errands in Chestnut Hill on Jan. 15. The cruiser was driven by State Trooper Kyle Santoro, according to the lawsuit.
However, the Norfolk District Attorney’s office told Brookline News that an investigation involving several law enforcement agencies found that Santoro was not at fault in the incident.
Following the crash, Mendez spent months in the hospital with a severe head injury and multiple broken bones before passing away on April 5. Mendez’s death certificate stated that her death was caused by injuries sustained in the January crash, according to Brookline News.
“The impact left [Mendez] in critical condition with multiple skull fractures, rib fractures, a shattered ankle, a massive brain bleed and traumatic brain injury. She was immediately rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency brain surgery,” her family said in a GoFundMe launched after the accident.
In the lawsuit, an attorney for Mendez’s family says the trooper “negligently failed to keep a proper lookout for [Mendez] as she attempted to take a right turn from Hammond Street onto Boylston Street, crashing the Massachusetts State Police cruiser into Mendez.”
Family members described Mendez as a loving matriarch who dedicated her life to caring for loved ones, including her husband, Rafael, who suffered from dementia before his recent passing.
State Police Spokesperson Tim McGuirk told Brookline News that the department “renews our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Ms. Mendez” but that it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Shortly after the crash, state police said the trooper was driving at a “very low speed,” according to the report. It’s not clear if Mendez had pressed the “walk” button. However, state law requires all drivers to yield to pedestrians who are in crosswalks, regardless of whether a walk light is flashing.
The agency has until January to formally respond to the lawsuit.
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