Driver charged with murder after allegedly running man over in Boston
BOSTON -- A 54-year-old man has been charged with murder after he allegedly drove over another man on Thursday. A judge set bail for Maximo Mazanett, of Hyde Park, at $250,000.
The MBTA confirmed Mazanett has been an MBTA bus driver until 2017. He is being suspended.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, 39-year-old Thomas Ruffen was having trouble walking from his Jackson Square residence toward Columbus Avenue in Roxbury around 4:30 a.m. At one point, he laid down in front of an intersection.
A bus driver came to a stop in the middle lane after seeing Ruffen lying in the right lane. Mazanett's Ford Explorer then came to a stop in front of Ruffen.
"Witnesses made statements to Mazanett that there was a person on the ground in front of his vehicle. Despite his knowledge that the victim was directly in front of his vehicle, prosecutors allege that Mazanett reversed his vehicle several feet, waited for the light to turn green and then drove over the victim's body," said a statement from the district attorney.
The victim's body was dragged across four lanes before Mazanett allegedly stopped on top of the body once again.
Ruffen was pronounced dead at the scene.
"The decisions made by this defendant are so heartless and pitiless they're difficult to comprehend. Instead of waiting for an unusual roadway situation to be resolved he made the decision to drive forward, knowing full well the consequences involved. That unfathomable action ended the victim's life and dramatically altered his own," District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
Mazanett is scheduled to appear in court again on September 14. If he makes bail, a judge ordered him to surrender his passport, not drive, and not contact any witnesses.