Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 23, 1991 TAG: 9103230051
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Medium
Smith, 23, who has a short-term contract with the Celtics, also was charged with leaving the scene of an accident. He was released on $100,000 personal recognizance bond after his arraignment in Roxbury District Court.
The victims were identified as An Trinh, 21, of Placentia, Calif., and Michelle Dartley, 20, of Ridgewood, N.J.
The women were taken to Beth Israel Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
"This is not a story about the Boston Celtics or Boston University, rather it is a story of life lost and dreams extinguished by reckless driving - a story that is repeated with horrifying regularity on the streets of Boston and across America," Boston University president John Silber said.
Jerry Leone, a prosecutor with the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, had requested that Smith be held on $10,000 bail. He said he was dissatisfied with Smith's release, saying he had a speeding ticket from Cambridge that was due for payment in April.
"We asked for bail because this is a serious crime," Leone said. "Two people were killed."
But Smith's attorney, Dennis Kelly, said Smith's record was clean.
"There's no risk he's going to flee," Kelly said. "He's not a danger to the community."
A taxi driver who witnessed the accident told police he saw a blue van hit the women near a crosswalk on Commonwealth Avenue near BU at about 1:45 a.m. The driver said the van then spun 360 degrees, made a U-turn and fled the scene, Sgt. Fred Conley said.
Smith was apprehended without incident about 12 minutes later about a mile away near an entrance to the Massachusetts Turnpike, police said.
Conley said Smith was riding with a former college roommate, Benjamin Gillery. Gillery was questioned and released without being charged, Conley said.
Police recovered strands of hair from the windshield of the van, and said the grill and the hood were dented and broken.
"There is ample physical evidence," Conley said.
Smith had a Breathalyzer reading of .06, which falls below the level where alcohol is presumed to be a factor in an accident, Conley said.
In Massachusetts, a person is presumed to be driving drunk when the alcohol level reaches .10, but there is no presumption between .06 and .09. There is a presumption a person is not drunk when the Breathalyzer tests below .06. But when a Breathalyzer reading falls between .06 and .10, drunkenness must be proved by additional evidence, according to police.
Smith played college basketball at Georgetown University and was on the 1988 U.S. Olympic team. He was signed by the Celtics as a free agent in September 1989 and spent the entire season with the team.
He was the last player released during training camp this season, and was signed earlier this month to a 10-day contract after Brian Shaw sprained his right ankle. Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said Smith was signed to a second 10-day contract March 14.
Kelly said Smith had lived with his mother in Maryland for the past two years.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB