Manslaughter Indictment in Crash that Killed Passenger

Manslaughter Indictment in Crash that Killed Passenger

BOSTON, Feb. 20, 2015—A repeat drunk driver has been indicted for manslaughter in the November crash on Enneking Parkway that killed his passenger, 41-year-old Lillian Grover, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

A Suffolk County grand jury today indicted JEFFREY MASON (D.O.B. 9/11/72) of Walpole for motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence as a fourth offense, and motor vehicle manslaughter by operating under the influence under Ch. 265, Sect. 13½, popularly known as Melanie’s Law. They move Mason’s case from West Roxbury Municipal Court to Suffolk Superior Court, where it will be adjudicated.  An arraignment date has not yet been set.

State Police assigned to the Milton Barracks responded to Enneking Parkway just north of Turtle Pond Parkway at about 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 15 for a report of a car crash. On arrival, they found a 2003 Honda Accord rolled over onto its roof with the vehicle’s passenger side against a tree. 

Mason had been helped out of the vehicle by passersby.  In spite of the efforts of those good Samaritans and first responders, Grover was pronounced dead at the scene.  Mason was located in the woods nearby; Troopers detected a strong odor of alcohol on Mason’s breath and observed that he had glassy, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, prosecutors said.

After he was transported to Brigham and Women’s Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, Mason consented to a blood test.  That test indicated that Mason’s blood alcohol content was .168 at the time of the crash.

Though Mason initially told Troopers at the scene that he had lost control of the vehicle when his tire blew out, investigators found all four of the car’s tires intact.  It was later determined that the vehicle was traveling at upwards of 67 miles per hour when he lost control on an area of the roadway with a speed limit of 35.

Mason previously had a drunk driving charge continued without a finding in Chelsea District Court in 1992 and was convicted of the same charge in West Roxbury Municipal Court in 1995 and Quincy District Court in 2006.

Assistant District Attorney Gretchen Sherwood led the grand jury proceedings resulting in today’s indictments.  Jillian Quigley is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate.