Expert: Alessandro - 10/25/2004

Question
i was wondering if u could tell me about the situation with charles smith and the hit and run on the boston university campus on may 22, 1991.

as much detailed info would be much appreciated

thanks

Answer
It was actually March 22, 1991, and this Boston Globe article should cover most of the details for you :



Boston Globe

March 23, 1991

CELTICS PLAYER CHARGED IN 2 HIT-RUN DEATHS AT BU

Author: Tom Coakley, Globe Staff

Edition: THIRD
Section: METRO
Page: 1

Index Terms:
NAME-SMITH
VEHICLE
ACCIDENT
DEATH
NAME-DARTLEY
NAME-TRINH
BASKETBALL
PROFESSIONAL
BOSTON

Estimated printed pages: 4

Article Text:

Boston Celtics guard Charles Smith was arrested by police early yesterday morning and charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol in the hit-and-run deaths of two Boston University students on Commonwealth Avenue in front of the campus.

Police said Smith, 23, was driving a rented 1991 Dodge Caravan west at the Granby Street intersection around 1:30 a.m. when it struck and killed An Trinh, 21, of Placentia, Calif., and Michelle Dartley, 20, of Ridgewood, N.J.

Smith was apprehended 12 minutes later about a mile away at the intersection of Boylston Street and Massachusetts Avenue by patrol officers using information supplied by a Boston cab driver who saw the collision and followed the van.

Boston Police Sgt. Fred Conley said the blue van had damage to its front grille, a headlight and the windshield when it was stopped. Investigators have removed strands of hair from the spot where the windshield glass was damaged, he said.

Conley said Smith had a passenger in the van, former Georgetown University teammate Benjamin Gillery, who was visiting him.

Conley said Smith told the officers who stopped him that he was taking Gillery, a former Sacramento Kings and minor league basketball player, to a friend's house in Roxbury.

Roxbury District Court Judge Richard Banks released Smith on $100,000 personal bond after he pleaded not guilty to eight charges, including leaving the scene of an accident after causing bodily injury.

Smith would face sentences of 2 1/2 to 15 years on each of the motor vehicle homicide counts if he is found guilty. He is scheduled to appear in court May 13.

Smith could not be reached for comment. His lawyer, Dennis Kelly, declined to comment.

The tragedy rekindled the debate over whether Boston University police should have authority to stop and cite traffic violators on city streets. BU officials feel the added police presence would help cut down on speeding and other violations.

After hearing Boston University president John Silber call yesterday for such authority, Boston City Councilor Bruce Bolling said that he planned to submit a resolution before the council next week asking for a study and a public hearing on the issue.

Silber said in a statement: "This is not a story about the Boston Celtics or Boston University, rather it is a story of a life lost and dreams extinguished by reckless driving."

Smith's driver's license was revoked by the Registry of Motor Vehiclesyesterday, but its status at the time of the crash is unclear.

Police have charged him with operating while his license was suspended.

But a Registry spokesman said Smith's license was valid, according to the agency's records. He had been notified that if he did not pay a Cambridge speeding ticket by April 11 he would face suspension, according to the spokesman.

The spokesman said records also showed that Smith had been involved in a June 10 accident in Capital Heights, Md., where he lives with his mother, Diann. The alleged cause of the accident, which resulted in property damage, was Smith's failure to change lanes with caution.

Police said Smith took two Breathalyzer tests after the crash, registering .06 percent blood alcohol, just at the threshold of blood alcohol content that can lead to a drunken driving charge.

Russ Riseman, a manager at Zanzibar, a disco off Boylston Street, said Smith was at the club from 11 p.m. Thursday to 1 a.m. yesterday. He said Smith was with a man believed to be Gillery.

Riseman said Smith ordered three beers in those two hours and did not finish the third.

"He did not arrive drinking," Riseman said. "When he was here, he did not show any signs of being impaired. He was not served too many drinks."

Conley said the impact of the crash propelled both women, who were crossing and in the middle of the street, onto the curb. The van was spun around.

One woman was dead at the scene. The other was pronounced dead at Brigham & Women's Hospital at 2:06 a.m.

It was unclear from police reports whether the women were in the crosswalk at the Granby Street intersection.

Yesterday afternoon, a city worker working on the traffic light at the intersection told a Globe photographer that he was repairing the mechanism that allows pedestrians to change the light to red by pressing a button.

But Karen Anderson of the Boston Transportation Department said the lights had been working before the crash and that the workers were simply performing routine checks done after every serious accident.

After hitting the two women, Smith allegedly continued west on Commonwealth Avenue to the first break in the median, just below the Boston University bridge, and made a U-turn, then headed inbound past the crash scene as bystanders hurried to call police.

Conley said there was no witness information concerning the van's speed on the wet pavement in the 30 m.p.h. zone near Warren Towers dormitory. But yesterday, long skid marks and blood stains could be seen on the asphalt where the two women were struck after leaving a nearby store.

Boston University officials said Trinh, a junior psychology major, lived at Shelton Hall on Bay State Road, and Dartley, a sophomore in the College of Basic Studies, roomed at International House, also on Bay State Road.

Smith spent about eight hours in custody before he stood impassively in the lockup dock at Roxbury District Court while Kelly entered not guilty pleas for him.

Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. asked Banks to set bail at $10,000 cash. But Kelly told the judge that Smith, a fill-in player last season and this season, faced the expiration of his Celtics contract today. He had been activated 20 days ago.

Kelly said that Smith could not afford more than $4,000 cash bail.

Celtics management expressed deep regret about the tragedy and support for Smith "in this most difficult time." The statement said nothing about his future with the team. Celtics president Red Auerbach said he was surprised by the events, and he described Smith as "a good kid . . . a quiet kid."

Smith, a point guard at Georgetown and a member of the 1988 US Olympic team, played mostly a backup role with the Celtics last season and was released early this season. He had played for minor league teams this year before being called up to provide backcourt help during an injury to starting guard Brian Shaw.

Kelly said that Smith maintained a residence here last year, but because he was playing only under 10-day contracts this year, he had been living at a local hotel.

Conley said that in addition to taking the Breathalyzer test, Smith submitted to field sobriety tests, which are physical exercises given by police to drivers to determine their sobriety.

He said Smith passed most of the tests, but would not say which tests he failed.

"The officer was not satisfied with some of his performance," Conley said. He also said Smith made statements to the officers who arrested him, but he declined to comment further.