Traffic & Transit

Man Charged In Fatal I-190 Crash That Killed 16-Year-Old

A 19-year-old Shirley man was arraigned on vehicular homicide and other charges Tuesday.

LEOMINSTER, MA — A 19-year-old Shirley man has been charged in connection to a fatal I-190 crash in Leominster in October that left a 16-year-old girl dead and two others injured.

Christopher Filz was charged Tuesday with motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, speeding and reckless operation of a vehicle, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.

Filz was operating a Ford Mustang around 7 p.m. on Oct. 6 when he drove the sports car off the side of I-190 northbound and into the woods. State police Krystal Mello, 16, of Ayer, was pronounced dead at the scene. Filz, an 18-year-old man from Bolton and a 16-year-old girl from Shirley were also injured and taken to UMass Memorial in Worcester.

Filz was released after an arraignment in Leominster on Tuesday ahead of a Jan. 5 hearing. He was ordered not to drive and to stay away from the victim's family.