Alleged drunk driver faces upgraded charges after Massachusetts crash victim dies
A woman with an alleged history of drunk driving who's accused of hitting a moped driver in Cambridge, Massachusetts now faces upgraded charges after the man died earlier this week.
Middlesex County prosecutors said in court that Lauren Mullins, 32, appeared to be under the influence, was slurring her speech and was unsteady on her feet when police arrived to Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street early Friday morning.
Accused of hitting man on moped and police cruiser
"Officers were unable to conduct a standardized field sobriety test due to the defendant's belligerent nature and behavior," the prosecutor explained.
Mullins is accused of hitting a 73-year-old man on a moped, then a MIT police cruiser when the two were stopped at a red light in Cambridge at 1:20 a.m. on Friday, March 21. The victim, Daniel O'Neil, died from his injuries on Sunday and she now faces charges of motor vehicle homicide.
"My uncle, he was a great guy," his niece, Meredith O'Neil said. "He was on his moped which was his favorite thing to do. Riding around the city and this girl driving drunk hit him."
Driver has alleged criminal record
Prosecutors told the judge this isn't Mullins' first run-in with the law in recent months.
"The defendant has a record out of the state as well as a record out of state with convictions," the Middlesex assistant district attorney told the court.
Mullins broke down in tears while her lawyer read the charges aloud – telling a judge that she recently graduated from law school.
"This is not an 18-year-old gang kid. And I suggest that even given the record that you see before you, it is recent. It's not a lifetime of it. And it is curable," Dan Solomon, Mullins' lawyer, told the judge.
Prosecutors snapped back before the judge set a $65,000 cash bail.
"She is showing that she is dangerous out in the community," said the prosecutor.
The O'Neil family is devastated given Mullins' extensive criminal history.
"This seems like something that totally could've been avoided had people gotten her help in her life," Meredith O'Neil said.
The judge ordered that Mullins be held in home confinement with a GPS monitoring device. She is due back in court in mid-May.
