The driver who killed a U.S. marine as he drove home from visiting his newborn daughter was an armed robbery suspect who was just released from jail, the Boston Herald reported.
PRAY: New Dad Killed in Head-On Collision After Visiting Wife and Newborn in Hospital
Kevin Quinn, a 32-year-old who had endured two combat tours in Afghanistan, died when his vehicle was struck by a career criminal who was fleeing from the police while out on bail for a serious armed robbery charge.
Quinn was cruising back from the hospital down Route 28 in Cotuit, Massachusetts, when he was struck head-on by 22-year-old Mickey Rivera, who died at the scene. Rivera’s 2000 Toyota sedan hit Quinn’s 2012 GMC SUV at such an escalated speed, the impact ripped the Toyota in two, according to the Boston Globe.
Now, it has been revealed that Rivera was let out on bail by Judge Thomas McGuire for the total sum amount of $1000, which had been inexplicably reduced from $35,000.
“It’s another case of courts not doing their job. This was a guy who shouldn’t have been on the streets,” Rob Dinan, a friend of Quinn’s and a spokesperson for the family, told the Boston Herald.
“Why would you put him back on the streets? I just don’t get it,” Dinan added.
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said he was “very disappointed the court reduced the defendant’s bail” considering the serious nature of the charges brought against him.
Rivera, along with two others, was accused of planning a robbery which ended in the killing of Anthony Carvalho. The other two suspects, Kevin Lara and Tavon Pires, have been charged with murder. According to a report at the time of the crime, Mickey Rivera, 19, was arrested in March of 2015 “on charges of witness intimidation and accessory to murder, after the fact.”
Rivera’s passenger, 24-year-old Jocelyn Goyette, was taken to a Boston hospital, and as of Sunday, remained in critical condition.
According to WPRI-TV, police were pursuing Rivera moments before the deadly collision, though it is not immediately clear why they were chasing him. Police in Mashpee and Barnstable are investigating what may have led to the accident.
In a statement to the Globe, Mashpee Police Chief Scott W. Carline said:
We are in the early stages of what is going to be a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the Mashpee Police Department’s involvement of the facts and circumstances leading up to this terrible tragedy.
Quinn’s sister, Danielle, posted a Facebook message thanking the community for their support during this difficult time, noting her brother’s wife and newborn daughter “were his EVERYTHING!”
“Please in his memory help us take care of his girls as he was a local business owner and this is an extremely difficult situation,” she wrote. “He should be here and was so excited to bring his baby home. I LOVE YOU KEVIN and I will Miss you everyday of my life.”
Since leaving the military, the new father had owned and operated Quinn’s Excavation & Septic, Inc., his Mashpee-based company.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help raise money for the young family in the wake of Quinn’s tragic and untimely death. The original goal was to raise $200,000, but this has been greatly exceeded: as of July 31, some $237,00 had been raised.
(H/T: Boston Herald)