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Drunk driver kills 10-year-old boy and injures three other children in accident


Drunk driver kills 10-year-old boy and injures three other children in accident

An Oxford man is due in court Monday on numerous charges after authorities say he caused a crash in Plainville Saturday night that left a 10-year-old boy dead and five of the child’s family members seriously injured.

Michael Escolas, 42, who is charged with intoxicated manslaughter and auto theft, among other offenses, was driving a suspected stolen 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee at high speed when he crashed into the rear of the family’s Nissan Altima, according to authorities.

All six occupants of the Nissan – including four children and their parents – were taken to area hospitals after the crash. The 10-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital, Tim McGuirk, a spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police, said in a statement.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said in a statement Sunday that Escolas remains in custody despite posting $25,000 bail and is due to appear in Wrentham District Court on Monday.

Authorities declined to name the boy who died in the crash because of his age and expressed their condolences to his family. Their Nissan was registered in Rhode Island, according to Morrissey.

“I thank everyone who responded and extend my sincere condolences to the family who lost their son,” Morrissey said in his statement.

Morrissey said Escolas stole the Jeep outside Gillette Stadium while its owners, a couple from Vermont, were attending a Kenny Chesney concert there on Saturday.

David Traub, a spokesman for Morrissey, said in a telephone interview that Escolas had a ticket for Saturday’s concert.

According to Traub, investigators have not yet been able to determine why Escolas allegedly stole a car.

Escolas was driving the stolen Jeep south on Route 1 toward Plainville and collided with the family’s Nissan, which was believed to have stopped at the traffic light near Interstate 495, Morrissey said.

Plainville Fire Department Assistant Chief Robert Skinner said in a statement that ambulances from Plainville, Foxborough, Franklin, Mansfield, North Attleboro and Wrentham were called to the scene early Sunday morning.

One child with critical injuries was taken to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Skinner said. Three other injured children were taken to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.

Three adults, one of whom was Escolas, were taken to the trauma center of Rhode Island Hospital in Providence with serious injuries.

It was not immediately clear which hospital the 10-year-old was taken to on Saturday. Skinner referred questions to state police in his statement.

In Plainville on Sunday, Skinner and City Administrator Brian Noble praised the work of emergency responders at the scene of the accident. In a statement to the Globe, both expressed their condolences to the family of the deceased boy.

“This was not an easy call to respond to, and I want to commend the members of the Plainville Fire Department and Police Department, as well as our relief partners, who responded to the call and did everything they could to help those affected,” Noble said.

Skinner praised the professionalism and steadfastness of the first responders, which he said were “necessary to act quickly and decisively in such a horrific situation.”

Three other vehicles were hit in the same accident, but their occupants were not taken to the hospital, Morrissey said.

After the accident, state police closed the southbound lane of Route 1 at the intersection with Interstate 495 and the highway exits to Route 1. The roads were reopened shortly before midnight.

The crash is currently being investigated by the state police’s Accident Analysis and Reconstruction Unit and the Crime Scene Services Division and Norfolk County Criminal Investigation Department, authorities said. A Norfolk assistant district attorney assigned to the motor vehicle homicide unit was also on the scene.


John Hilliard can be reached at [email protected].

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