# Driver to be charged in tragic accident



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

By Jack Spillane 

Standard-Times staff writer 
NEW BEDFORD - District Attorney Paul F. Walsh Jr. will prosecute a 39-year-old Dartmouth woman for causing a motor vehicle accident last year that left a town police officer paralyzed. 
Mr. Walsh will charge Beth A. Porto of 49 Bayberry Lane with operating to endanger in the Nov. 26, 2005, accident that resulted in Officer David Mello losing the use of his arms and legs. 
Based on calculations involving the speed of Ms. Porto's vehicle and the location where it came to a stop, state police concluded she ran a stop sign on George Street before striking Officer Mello's vehicle on Russells Mills Road. 
Mr. Walsh yesterday said the release of the report on Tuesday - the day after a Standard-Times editorial requesting it in time for last night's Dartmouth Town Meeting - was a coincidence. 
The problem is that it can take the state police up to 18 months to complete an accident investigation, he said. 
"As soon as I got it, I released it to the Dartmouth chief," he said of the report, which was approved by state police on April 8. 
The Mello accident was expected to be an issue at Town Meeting because the town, under state law, is responsible for the officer's medical bills. It is responsible because Dartmouth Chief Mark Pacheco ruled that the accident - which happened as Officer Mello traveled home in his own vehicle while working two consecutive shifts - occurred while he was on duty. 
Officer Mello is a popular, 12-year veteran of the Dartmouth force. His medical bills are estimated to amount to $850,000 by this September and could remain high for years to come. 
The bill for this year's care would represent close to 2 percent of Dartmouth's annual town budget of $55 million. 
Town police, up until yesterday, had refused to release the police report on the accident because it is part of an ongoing investigation by state police. 
Members of the town Finance Committee had asked for information about the crash prior to deciding whether to recommend that Town Meeting pay Officer Mello's bills. 
After receiving Mr. Walsh's information Tuesday night, the committee voted 9-0 to recommend that the town pay the bills, and voters approved the article at last night's meeting. 
There was no information released by the district attorney addressing whether Officer Mello was wearing a seat belt or whether he was speeding. 
"The sole area of my inquiry was who caused the accident," said Mr. Walsh. 
Anthony C. Savastano, the attorney for the town, has said the town is responsible for Officer Mello's bills regardless of whether he was responsible for the accident (unless he had purposely caused it). 
"There tended to be a lot of misplaced focus and suspicion about who caused the accident," he said. 
Contact Jack Spillane 
at [email protected]

Date of Publication: May 04, 2006 on Page A01


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