A Massachusetts man held in connection with the car crash last week that left rising sophomore Matthew Navien dead pleaded not guilty to a single count of manslaughter Tuesday.
Lawrence, Mass. District Court Judge Kevin J. Gaffney ordered Paul D. Mscisz, 29, held without bail after the plea was issued during an arraignment proceeding in Lawrence General Hospital, where Mscisz is still recuperating from injuries he sustained in the accident.
A preliminary police investigation concluded that Mscisz’s 2003 Toyota Camry crossed into oncoming traffic on Route 125 near North Andover, Mass., striking Navien’s 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass as he traveled home from a friend’s house at approximately 1:18 a.m. Neither vehicle carried passengers.
According to the initial police report on the collision, both vehicles sustained severe damage and Mscisz’s car caught fire. Navien had sustained head injuries and was unconscious at the time police arrived, the report said.
Shortly afterward, the officers approached Mscisz in Lawrence General Hospital’s emergency room but were unable to interview him because he was heavily sedated. They also detected “the odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his person,” the report said.
Witnesses who observed Mscisz’s vehicle shortly before the collision said that his driving was erratic and that he was revving his engine at stoplights and going as fast as 80 miles per hour. One witness cited in the report said that Mscisz’s car drifted across the center of the road into the far lane on Route 125’s northbound side, striking Navien’s vehicle head-on.
Inspector Dan Cronin of the North Andover Police Department said that the investigation was continuing and declined to discuss whether alcohol was a factor in the collision.
Steve O’Connell, a spokesman for the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, said that if prosecutors are successful in demonstrating that Mscisz is a continuing threat to the community during a new bail hearing next Friday, he will be held for an additional 90 days while the investigation proceeds.
A hearing scheduled for Friday was delayed because Mscisz is still in the hospital recovering from his injuries.
Manslaughter carries a maximum penalty in Massachusetts of 20 years in state prison.
Prosecutors have not ruled out filing additional charges in the case.
Cronin said that the police were still conducting tests and that he expected some results of the investigation to be released soon.
The lawyer who represented Mscisz at his arraignment, David Hitchman, could not be reached for comment. Phone calls to scisz’s home went unanswered.
Meanwhile, Navien’s family and friends gathered for his funeral yesterday morning at All Saints Catholic Church in his hometown of Haverhill, Mass.
“It is a tragic loss for our community,” said Todd Olson, vice president for student affairs, who notified the Georgetown community of Navien’s death in a broadcast e-mail onday evening.
Navien was a member of Georgetown’s Army ROTC program and a summer camp counselor. He graduated from Central Catholic High School and was an Eagle Scout.
