a day ago
Mass. trooper ‘lucky to be alive' after being hit by motorcycle, prosecutor says
An 18-year-old man accused of crashing a motorcycle into a Massachusetts State Police lieutenant made no effort to avoid the uniformed trooper on Revere Beach Boulevard on Monday afternoon, a prosecutor said in court.
The 18-year-old, Akram El Moukhtari, was ordered held on $50,000 bail during his arraignment in Chelsea District Court Tuesday afternoon, the amount requested by prosecutors. El Moukhtari is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, receiving stolen property and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury.
The lieutenant, Donald Bossi, the station commander of the Revere barracks, is 'lucky to be alive' after being hit by the motorcycle and thrown 40 feet, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney John Verner said.
'That's not something I say lightly,' he said during the arraignment, which was attended by about two dozen uniformed state police troopers. El Moukhtari's parents sat quietly at the other end of the courtroom, not reacting as Verner laid out the case against their son.
At the request of his defense attorney, El Moukhtari was arraigned out of view.
El Moukhtari had been scheduled to appear in Juvenile Court Monday morning in connection with a fight at Revere High School, but the victim didn't show up, leading to the case being dismissed, Verner said.
Roughly six hours later, Verner said, El Moukhtari was riding a stolen motorcycle at a high speed down Revere Beach Boulevard, blowing through red lights and popping wheelies.
Bossi was in a parked cruiser on the side of the road, and got out to try and corral the bike. But El Moukhtari, despite seeing the uniformed trooper on a largely traffic-free street, continued forward, literally plowing into and running the lieutenant over near Shirley Avenue, Verner said.
'Not stopping, not swerving, not making any attempt, despite seeing the lieutenant, to not hit [him],' Verner said. Bossi sustained a broken and separated pelvis and several cuts that required stitches. His nose was broken to the extent that it was pushed in and cracked the orbital bone, Verner said.
After the collision, El Moukhtari sped off down the boulevard where security cameras lost sight of him. Around 8:45 p.m. that night, he and his father surrendered at the state police barracks in Revere.
During that time, the person El Moukhtari was with, a juvenile, told police El Moukhtari had FaceTimed him and admitted to hitting the trooper and fleeing the scene.
Verner said there is a real possibility El Moukhtari could face more severe charges down the line, including assault with intent to murder.
But his defense attorney, Carla Barrett, pushed back on the notion that the collision was intentional, saying the teenager 'panicked' at the sight of the trooper.
Barrett asked Judge Matthew Machera to release El Moukhtari on his personal recognizance, explaining that his family's only income comes from Social Security and food stamps. El Moukhtari fell in with the wrong crowd at school, but was expected to get his diploma next spring, she said.
'What I see is a young man who's very, very scared ... and who was not sure exactly how to respond in the moment,' she said, noting that El Moukhtari's brain is still developing.
'I do not believe that he is somebody who would have seen a lieutenant in the road and then intentionally drove into that person. I think that this is more a matter of panic,' Barrett continued.
But Machera ultimately set the $50,000 bail, citing the 'recklessness' with which El Moukhtari was driving at the time, and the 'strong likelihood' he would be incarcerated if he were to be convicted.
El Moukhtari's parents and lawyer left court without speaking to reporters. A pre-trial hearing was set for July 18.
State Police Col. Geoff Noble called the crash 'senseless,' adding it 'could have proven fatal if not for the resilience and extraordinary strength of Lieutenant Bossi, and the care he received on scene, in transit, and at the hospital.'
'Our community is safer because of the many troopers who set their feelings aside in the aftermath of this event to do their jobs and meet the moment by apprehending the fleeing suspect,' the colonel said. 'We remain very grateful for these positive developments.'
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