Police: Drugged Driver Hit, Killed Motorcyclist In Bridgewater Crash
BRIDGEWATER (CBS) - A Whitman man has been charged with motor vehicle homicide, accused of drugged driving moments before a head-on crash that killed a motorcyclist on Route 18 Thursday.
Witnesses describe a horrifying scene and say when they rushed to help, the driver had no idea what was going on.
"See a car coming at me, and I didn't know which way to go," said witness Paul Mancinalli, who was working outside Bridgewater Auto Body when a car came barreling toward him. It only stopped when it hit a parked SUV.
"Thank God there was another vehicle out there that stopped the car or I probably wouldn't be standing," said Mancinalli.
Bridgewater Police say the driver of a Toyota Camry tried to pass a car by driving into oncoming traffic on Bedford Street and hit a motorcyclist head-on, killing him.
"Saw an off-duty corrections officer doing CPR on the guy from the motorcycle," said witness Richard Ellis.
The sedan then went off the road taking out wooden posts and stopping three feet from Mancinalli. "First thing the kid (driver) said, 'What happened? What happened?" said Mancinalli.
Police arrested the driver, 29-year-old Anthony Hathaway of Whitman.
"Driving under the influence of a drug or drugs and caused the death of an individual just driving the road in the middle of the daytime," said Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte.
Inside Hathaway's car was a 7-year old who witnesses say was shaken but not physically hurt. The child's mother picked him up. He is not related to Hathaway.
"No kid should have to go through that," said Ellis, who is having a hard time dealing with the crash. "They have a family. If I was hit and killed I don't know what my wife and kid would do without me."
Police said they do have surveillance video of the crash. Hathaway is expected to be in court Friday. He faces numerous charges including motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of drugs.
