Nearly six years after a suspected drunk driver from Brockton, Massachusetts hit and impaired a man, his family is still awaiting their day in court.
Quesnel Belony was delivering food near Boston's South Station in November 2018 when he was hit by a car and thrown from his scooter. His cousin Dinny Okonkwo said he suffered severe brain damage and was in a coma for four months.
“Two months later, doctors told us he was brain dead and we needed to make a decision about his life,” Okonkwo said.
“They said he would never walk or talk again and would spend the rest of his life with a trachea and feeding tube. He defied all odds.”
Once a thriving father of two, Veronie, 44, now uses a wheelchair, struggles with language and lives in a nursing home.
“That's no good. I can't see my daughter. I can't see my son,” Verony said.
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The criminal trial against the driver, now 38-year-old Marcela Castiello, was initially postponed multiple times due to the pandemic.
“We have been informed by the Suffolk County Attorney's Office that the trial will continue again due to a shortage of judges,” said attorney Paul Baker, who is representing Belloney. “The last time the case went on about six months ago, we were told the reason was because certain witnesses were not available. Every time it goes on, we seem to get a different excuse. ”
A spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office acknowledged that numerous motions from the defense have delayed the trial.
“The most obvious strategy in a case like this is multiple delays,” Baker said. “The longer you wait, the more likely you are to be fired.”
According to a police report from the night of the crash, officers responding to the scene observed the driver smelling like alcohol, his eyes were glassy and bloodshot, and his speech was slurred. That's what it means. A breath test on her showed her alcohol level was above the legal limit, and surveillance video collected by investigators recorded her under the influence.
“If it had been Kisnel who hit that woman, he would have been tried and sentenced. We wouldn't even have this conversation now — we only have one justice system in America, and Kismel and I… Just to show that it's not for people who look like them,'' Okonkwo said. “It hurts to talk about it. It hurts and it makes me angry, but what can we do? We just have to sit back and wait and see if justice is done.”
Castiello's driver's license was suspended and he was ordered not to drive until the case was resolved.
A jury trial was scheduled to take place this week, but was postponed again to September.
