The person convicted of crashing right into a State Police cruiser on the Mass Pike and killing the trooper has obtained a cut up determination from the Supreme Judicial Courtroom.
David Njuguna again in 2016 was noticed driving erratically on the Pike heading west — rushing and weaving by lanes with out signaling.
A short while later, he crashed right into a Mass State Police cruiser and killed Trooper Thomas Clardy, who was parked within the breakdown lane along with his flashing lights on after pulling over one other automobile.
Njuguna, who on the morning of the crash purchased 4 marijuana cigarettes from a Brookline medical marijuana dispensary, had THC in his system following the crash. He instructed police that he fell asleep earlier than the crash, and that he had beforehand skilled episodes of “blacking out.”
In 2019, Njuguna was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, motorized vehicle murder, working to hazard, and working an uninsured motorized vehicle.
He appealed the conviction, arguing that the state Legislature didn’t authorize a number of punishments for involuntary manslaughter, motorized vehicle murder, and working to hazard arising from the identical act. He additionally argued that the proof was inadequate to maintain his involuntary manslaughter conviction, and that his trial counsel was ineffective.
The Massachusetts Appeals Courtroom ended up reversing the convictions of motorized vehicle murder and working to hazard — noting that the Legislature didn’t intend to impose a number of punishments primarily based on the identical act for these offenses, through which a defendant can also be convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
The appeals courtroom upheld the involuntary manslaughter conviction, rejecting Njuguna’s arguments that the proof was inadequate and that his trial counsel was ineffective.
The Supreme Judicial Courtroom then took up the case for additional appellate assessment.
“… We affirm the defendant’s convictions of involuntary manslaughter and operating an uninsured motor vehicle, but reverse the convictions of motor vehicle homicide and operating to endanger,” the SJC wrote in its ruling on Monday. “We further affirm the denial of the defendant’s motion for a new trial.”
A number of eyewitnesses noticed the crash again on March 16, 2016, they usually tried to assist earlier than emergency personnel arrived.
One witness, Christopher Lindsay, was driving west within the center lane at 75 mph when he observed a black Nissan approaching “really fast” from behind. He additionally noticed the State Police cruiser parked within the breakdown lane with its lights flashing.
Lindsay watched because the black automobile moved into the left lane, passing him at a velocity that made him really feel as if he “was stopped,” after which reduce to the fitting lane with out signaling or braking. The automobile then entered the breakdown lane and smashed into the cruiser.
The pressure of the influence despatched the cruiser spinning off the highway. Clardy suffered deadly accidents, with the reason for loss of life decided to be blunt pressure accidents to the pinnacle, neck, and torso.
Njuguna obtained a sentence of 5 to 7 years in state jail for the involuntary manslaughter conviction, with lesser concurrent sentences on the remaining convictions.
Within the SJC ruling, the state’s high courtroom dominated that it was reversing the convictions of motorized vehicle murder and working to hazard “as duplicative of his conviction of involuntary manslaughter.”
