Northbridge woman pleads guilty to charges in crash that killed NH hotel owner

WORCESTER is a 36-year-old woman from Northbridge accused of hitting a motorcyclist in 2022 after leaving a marijuana dispensary, she pleaded guilty Thursday in Worcester Superior Court to charges of involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of injury and death.

Marissa Mendez, of the Whitinsville section of Northbridge, was sentenced to four to six years for involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence, along with two and a half years and one year to be served concurrently with the first charge of leaving the scene of an accident with bodily injuries. and death

Three other charges — vehicular manslaughter by driving under the influence of alcohol or careless driving, negligent homicide and driving while intoxicated — were all dismissed at the Commonwealth’s request with the defendant’s consent.

Scott M. Reed, a motorcyclist, died May 1, 2023, more than 10 months after the crash at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, according to court documents and his obituary.

Reed, 57, of Sunapee, New Hampshire, has worked as an information technology executive at The Hartford, MassMutual and AIG. In 2015, Reid and his wife, Jennifer, bought the Inn at Pleasant Lake in New London, New Hampshire; in 2020 they bought the New London Inn in the same city.

A crash involving a car and a motorcycle was reported to police around 5:30 p.m. on June 11, 2022, on Route 146 in Uxbridge.

Reports indicate that a gray Honda Pilot with extensive damage fled the scene heading northbound. Police located the SUV a short time later at Border and B streets in Northbridge.

Police identified the driver as Mendez.

According to Trooper Kenneth R. Hanchett, assigned to the Millbury Barracks, the vehicle had extensive damage to the driver’s side and a deflated left front tire and the driver’s side airbags were deployed.

Hanchett reported that while speaking with Mendez, he smelled a “strong odor” of alcohol coming from her breath and described her eyes as “glassy and slightly bloodshot.”

Mendez told the trooper that she had just left Caroline’s Cannabis in Uxbridge and that the SUV she was driving had been hit by another vehicle as she was pulling out of the parking lot, according to the trooper’s report.

Mendez said she was hit by another vehicle on Route 146 but did not stop, Ganchett’s report said.

When asked if she had taken any medication or consumed alcohol, Mendez told the trooper that she was taking medication for depression and had consumed five Jim Beam “pieces” a few hours earlier at her home, according to the trooper’s report.

Several witnesses described Mendez’s car as the one that hit the motorcycle and fled the scene. According to the trooper’s report, at least one witness provided the license plate number of Mendez’s car and another took pictures of the car at the scene of the crash with his phone.

“The weather was pleasant, with no noticeable wind, and it was dry,” said Hanchett’s report.

Two tests showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.16, twice the legal limit, while several field sobriety tests showed “impaired health,” he said.

Judge James Reardon Jr. was the presiding judge on the plea change. Kevin D. Quinlan was the defense attorney and Assistant District Attorney Luis J. Toshes was the prosecuting attorney.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Massachusetts woman pleads guilty in crash that killed NH hotel owner Scott Reed