Plymouth DA to Seek Homicide Charges Against Driver in Fatal Brockton Crash

From the Plymouth County District Attorney's office:

BROCKTON – A criminal complaint has been issued against a driver who struck and killed a pedestrian in Brockton, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced Thursday.

After a show/cause hearing was held Monday, August 22 in Brockton District Court, a clerk magistrate issued a criminal complaint today charging Valerie J. Semensi, 66, of Cohasset, with one count of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation. Semensi will be summonsed to court for arraignment. The complaint alleges that Semensi was behind the wheel of her 2013 Mercedes SUV and negligent when she struck and killed 66-year-old John A. Buckley of Bridgewater.

At approximately 8:01 in the morning on June 1, 2016, Brockton Police responded to a call for a pedestrian struck on West Elm Street in Brockton. Upon arrival, police found a man, later identified as Buckley, laying on the sidewalk on West Elm Street, suffering from serious injuries. Buckley was transported to Brockton Hospital where he was pronounced dead of his injuries at 8:40 a.m.

Brockton Police contacted State Police Detectives assigned to the District Attorney’s Office and an investigation commenced. Semensi, the driver of the Mercedes SUV that struck Buckley, appears to have been backing her vehicle into a space in the courthouse parking lot. The State Police investigation revealed that Semensi’s vehicle continued to accelerate in reverse and traveled over the curb of the parking spot, over grass, through a curbed driveway, up a grassy hill, through bushes and over a sidewalk, at which point the vehicle struck Buckley and knocked him to the ground. The SUV continued across West Elm Street before finally coming to rest against a building. Semensi was distraught at the accident scene and remained behind to speak with police before she was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles suspended Semensi’s license after the accident and it remains suspended.

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