Over the weekend, Stoughton resident John G. Smith, 84, was killed in a hit-and-run crash with a suspect who was trying to evade police, authorities said previously. He died on the afternoon of Dec. 20 — his son’s birthday.
“I’m gonna have to deal with this — not just through this episode here — but every time I turn a year older,” Smith’s son, John Jensen, told reporters through tears outside Stoughton District Court on Monday.
Jensen and the news media were attending the arraignment of Jason Ortiz, a 26-year-old Brockton resident who faces seven counts in connection with the crash.
On Monday, Ortiz pleaded not guilty to the charges, including motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury and operation with a suspended license, according to court records.
The judge ordered him held on $100,000 cash bail.
Ortiz’s pickup truck collided with Smith’s sedan Saturday morning at the intersection of Pleasant and Prospect streets in Stoughton, authorities said previously. At the time, Ortiz was fleeing from Brockton police, who had tried to pull him over after dispatchers received a report that the truck was “driving erratically.”
Stoughton firefighters took Smith and a passenger — a 78-year-old Stoughton woman — to a hospital, authorities said. Smith died at the hospital later that day.
“He was a good man,” Jensen told reporters on Monday.
The passenger was Smith’s wife, Cindy, who was seriously injured in the crash, Boston 25 News reported.
After the collision, Ortiz and another man got out of the truck and ran from police, Stoughton police said previously. Stoughton officers quickly detained one of the men, and he was then transferred into Brockton police custody.
Authorities conducted an extensive search for Ortiz, using K-9 units and the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing, Stoughton police said. Stoughton officers eventually arrested him at Halloran Park in Stoughton.
Ortiz’s license was suspended at the time of the crash due to an operating under the influence charge that was filed against him in October, Boston 25 News reported. That case is open and ongoing.
At Ortiz’s arraignment, the judge issued conditions for his release, including that he refrain from driving and have no contact with victims or witnesses in the case, the news station reported.
It is unclear if the passenger in Ortiz’s pickup truck is facing charges.
