A city woman has been sent to jail for her role in the death of Vincent Caputo, 18, of 11-C Holland Avenue. Caputo died as a result of injuries sustained in an early morning vehicular crash on Cross Street on Saturday, April 16, 2011 when a vehicle he was operating left the roadway, struck a fence and ultimately hit a tree before coming to rest. (File photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – A city woman has been sent to jail for her role in the death of Vincent Caputo, 18, of 11-C Holland Avenue.
Caputo died as a result of injuries sustained in an early morning vehicular crash on Cross Street on Saturday, April 16, 2011 when a vehicle he was operating left the roadway, struck a fence and ultimately hit a tree before coming to rest.
Caputo and a second victim, Anthony Gay, then 18, of 86 Holyoke Road, were removed from the 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt by the responding firefighters and taken to hospital. Although Gay survived, Caputo died six days after the crash.
Harry Sienkiewicz, the lead investigator into the crash, reports that Caputo had never been licensed to operate a motor vehicle and his right to do so had been suspended after a conviction for using a motor vehicle without authority.
Sienkiewicz also reports that the owner of the car, Lindsey F. Pelletier, 25, of 125 Main Street, had been seen to give the keys to her vehicle to Caputo hours before the crash.
He reported that his investigation produced witnesses who said that Pelletier had purchased a 1.75 liter bottle of rum for Caputo on April 15 and gave it to the two accident victims and to a third underage person about 12:30 a.m. on the day of the crash.
In court Thursday, April 4, Pelletier pleaded guilty to three charges of delivering alcohol to persons younger than the legal drinking age and a charge of allowing unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
Her court -appointed attorney asked that she be allowed to submit to facts stipulating that the Commonwealth could find her guilty of the charges, a legal maneuver which would not result in a record of a guilty finding.
The prosecutor asked for a one year term in the house of correction, suspended.
However, Judge Philip A. Contant rejected the defense recommendation and amended the prosecutor’s recommendation.
He sentenced her to four concurrent one year terms in the house of correction with 60 days to be served direct and the balance suspended with probation for one year.
Contant allowed Pelletier to delay the start of her term in jail for a few days until April 8.
