WESTFIELD – The family of the late Kevin Regan is asking for prayers as they travel to Barnstable District Court Thursday to attend a Motion to Dismiss hearing that could allow the alleged drunk driver who took Regan’s life to go free.
On December 27, Regan, 62, who served as a Westfield firefighter for more than four decades, was killed, and his fiancee, Lynda Cavanaugh, 62, was seriously injured, while crossing Route 28 in West Yarmouth.
Paul G. Dennehy of South Yarmouth was arrested and taken to the Yarmouth Police Station where he was booked on charges of motor vehicle homicide, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor and OUI-liquor with serious injury, according to capecodtoday.com
Dennehy, 55, allegedly had a blood-alcohol level of .138, nearly twice the legal limit of .8, at the time his 2009 Ford Econovan struck Regan and Cavanaugh, according to the Boston Herald.
Dennehy pleaded not guilty to drunken driving and other charges on December 29 and was released in lieu of $5,000 bail.
The Regan family was told in September that the booking tape from Dennehy’s arrest is missing, so the defendant’s attorney is requesting that the case be dismissed, according to Regan’s sister, Westfield Fire Chief Mary Regan.
A Motion to Dismiss hearing had been scheduled for October 9 and was postponed until November 19 at 10 a.m., Regan said.
For the October 9 hearing, family and friends had planned to use a bus to travel to eastern Mass, but, “it is difficult because of the travel and the work day so we don’t think there will be a lot of people,” Regan said on Monday.
“There is a group from the family that will be attending and we know some others,” said Regan, “The family has had many calls of support from people who want to be there but can’t make it.”
There is a petition on a Facebook page entitled “Westfield Cares About the Kevin Regan Case” which reads:
“We, the citizens of Westfield and it’s surrounding Western Massachusetts towns, ask the Barnstable District Court to please consider the monumental value we place on First Responder’s lives and that we collectively want to see justice prevail in Firefighter Kevin Regan’s and Lynda Cavanaugh’s case. Please deny the motion to dismiss this case and allow it to go to trial. The families of these two victims are deeply supported by their community and by the surrounding towns. Please note the names and towns of citizens who support these families signed in the comments below.”
Nearly 300 people have signed this online petition by leaving their name and town as a comment on this Facebook page.
“The family would (like to) thank everyone for their prayers and support as we continue to move through this difficult process,” Regan said on Monday.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
