Student arraigned in death of pedestrian
Pleads not guilty in crash after prom
LYNN - On a day when he would have normally attended classes at Saugus High School, senior Jonathan Caruso was in Lynn District Court answering to charges that he killed a 67-year-old woman and critically injured her daughter while driving under the influence of alcohol early Saturday, hours after prom.
"The party should have ended at 4 a.m., but instead it continued," said Christina Ronan, assistant district attorney.
Caruso, wearing a long-sleeved white dress shirt and with his hands cuffed in front of him, stood nearby, glancing occasionally toward his parents and other supporters seated in the courtroom. He pleaded not guilty to charges of negligent motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence of alcohol, and being a minor transporting liquor. Despite a request by Ronan that Caruso be held on $20,000 cash bail, the judge ordered him held on $7,500 cash bail and imposed a curfew of 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. He is scheduled to return to court July 7 for a pretrial hearing.
About an hour after the noon arraignment, Caruso, 18, walked out of the courthouse with his family, all declining to comment.
According to a police report, Caruso told authorities at the scene of the crash, at Essex and Grove streets in Saugus, that he had been drinking and that he had probably fallen asleep at the wheel. He told police that he had probably drank 10 beers. He spoke in a thick slur, had a heavy smell of alcohol on his breath, and failed a field sobriety test, the report said.
Caruso also said that when he awoke after hitting a street sign, a fellow high school student in his car, Christopher Baldwin, told him he had just hit two pedestrians. Caruso is charged with killing Carol Marean, who had been walking her dog with her daughter, Charlotte, 41, who was also hit. She remains in critical but stable condition at Massachusetts General Hospital.
When police responded at 7:30 a.m., they found Caruso lying on the ground with his head in the lap of Rosa Palomba, 18, a classmate who had also been riding in his gray Chevy Cavalier.
"We killed that person!" Palomba screamed as she cried hysterically, according to the report, adding, "I just want to die."
Investigators found four beer cans in the trunk of Caruso's car. About 90 minutes after the crash, Caruso took a breath analysis test and registered a blood alcohol content of 0.02, according to the police report. The legal blood alcohol limit in Massachusetts is 0.08 for drivers 21 and older; the limit for those under 21 is 0.02 percent.
Caruso had attended a school-sponsored post-prom harbor cruise in Boston and had been bused back to the high school about 4 a.m., police said. The students were required to take a breath analysis test before the prom and again before boarding the cruise ship, where their bags were also searched. Authorities said on Saturday afternoon that the students were not drinking on the boat. It was not clear where the students went from 4 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.
At the high school yesterday, several students, heading home after school, yelled from their cars, "We love you Jonathan." Across the street from the school, several students talked about the effect the accident has had on them and their classmates.
Caryssa Johnson, an 18-year-old senior, said a friend called her on Saturday and told her that Jonathan had been in an accident. "I asked: 'Is he all right? Is he hurt?' " she said. "I couldn't believe what I was hearing."
Johnson said administrators held an assembly yesterday for seniors.
"They told us basically to not push the issue if the younger students ask," she said. "This affects everyone, but we shouldn't bad mouth anyone involved." 