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Driver in fatal crash 'reckless,' Suffolk prosecutor says

E-mail|Link March 29, 2010 02:08 PM

By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

A Suffolk prosecutor today urged jurors to hold responsible a man who allegedly aggressively chased a car with his own SUV, leading to a high speed chase, a crash, and a death two years ago on Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan.

“It’s his reckless conduct that resulted in Porsche Hubbard’s death,” Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Hickman said today, during closing arguments in the case of Jason Bailey.

Bailey, now 31, has been charged with manslaughter in the death of Hubbard, who was 18 at the time of the August 2007 crash. After a week’s worth of testimony, jurors are slated to begin deliberating this afternoon.

Bailey allegedly aggressively pursued a car Hubbard was riding in after she threw bleach at him, after an earlier confrontation at a gas station. Hubbard jumped into a Dodge Stratus being driven by her friend, Ladeshia Parker. Parker’s 6-month-old daughter and Hubbard’s 10-year-old cousin were in the back seats.

Prosecutors allege that Bailey grew angry after Hubbard threw bleach at him, climbed into his Mitsubishi SUV and followed their car in an aggressive chase down Blue Hill Avenue.

Reaching speeds of 81 miles per hour, he allegedly bumped the Stratus multiple times before it went out of control and smacked into a light pole and then a tree. Hubbard was pronounced dead at the scene.

Bailey allegedly continued to drive away but was stopped by officers who quickly arrived at the scene.

Hickman said that Parker drove off quickly because she was fearful of Bailey and was following, “the instincts of flight.”

Bailey’s attorney, Steven Sack, argued today that police witnesses gave conflicting accounts of the vehicle they saw at the scene behind the Stratus. One officer reported seeing a Jeep Cherokee; Parker was driving a Mitsubishi Endeavor.

Sack, in his closing argument, also cited medical reports that said Parker was high on marijuana and cocaine at the time, and said she was responsible for the accident.

“When you consider the facts of this case you will come to one, one inescapable conclusion – that Jason Bailey is not guilty,” Sack said.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Patrick Brady is slated to give the jury instructions this afternoon before deliberations begin.