Mashpee Mom Accused Of Drunk Driving, Killing Falmouth Teen
FALMOUTH (CBS/AP) - A former police dispatcher has been charged with driving drunk and killing a teenager on the Cape.
Prosecutors say 42-year-old Monica Mitchell of Masphee was drunk when she ran over 16-year-old Jack Pearsall Friday evening after a fireworks show.
Pearsall was walking with three friends along the side of the road when he was hit. Mitchell then allegedly drove away.
She was stopped by police in traffic moments later. Authorities say she had been drinking wine and failed three sobriety tests. Her attorney said she was not aware she hit anyone and is "distraught."
WBZ-TV's Bill Shields reports.
Pearsall was taken to a hospital in Boston on a MedFlight rescue helicopter. He died Monday. He was about to enter his junior year at Falmouth High School, where he played soccer.
Mitchell was arraigned Tuesday on several charges, including motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol, driving to endanger, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
She was released on a promise to return to court for her next hearing.
Mitchell was a dispatcher for the Falmouth police department for more than three years. She now works for the Housing Assistance Corp. She is a single mother with a 7-year-old daughter.
"I just think it's ironic that the exact moment that she appeared in court was the exact – to the minute – time that my son was donating his heart," Pearsall's mother Kelly said outside court.
Pearsall said several of her son's organs were harvested to help seven people.
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