Police arrest Lynn driver following fatal accident

LYNN – A judge ordered $1,000 cash bail and that a city resident be held for immigration officials after Saugus Police said the man was driving without a license when involved in a head-on collision in which a 3-year-old boy died.The man has not been charged in connection with the accident, however.”The defendant has not as yet been implicated in the police report as being responsible, as the investigation remains ongoing,” Essex Assistant District Attorney Jacquelyn Kaplan said in Lynn District Court Tuesday. “The Commonwealth would like an opportunity to continue the investigation and complete that investigation.”Daniel Ortega, 40, of 32 Houghton St. #1, was arrested and charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle; on Monday. A plea of not guilty was entered on Ortega’s behalf at his Tuesday arraignment in Lynn District Court.Attorneys divulged few details of the crash during court proceedings, citing an ongoing investigation. A police report included in court documents was likewise brief.But Saugus Police reported responding at 10:37 p.m. Monday to the area of Walnut Street between Elm and Central streets and finding two vehicles badly damaged, according to a press release from the department.A gray 2005 Volvo was driven by a 43-year-old man from Lynn who refused medical treatment at the scene. The passenger in the vehicle, a 3-year-old boy, had serious injuries. The child was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.Ortega was driving the second vehicle, a white 1998 Ford Explorer, and police learned he had an outstanding warrant for driving without a license in Danvers in 2005.Police said Ortega was also found not to have a driver’s license, according to a statement of facts by Saugus Police Officer Frank Morello. Ortega was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of his injuries and was arrested upon his release, police said.Ortega did not speak during his arraignment in Lynn District Court, except to agree to have a court-appointed attorney.Kaplan requested Ortega be held on $5,000 cash bail. Kaplan said Ortega had an outstanding warrant for allegedly driving without a license in 2005. Kaplan also said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement had issued a detainer for Ortega, a resident of Mexico, whom the agency said they had previously deported.Court-appointed defense attorney Michael Dunphy said Ortega was being charged only with a crime that carried a maximum penalty of a $500 fine for the first offense and a $1,000 fine for the second offense. Dunphy also said his client sent most of his money back home to support his family.Judge James Wexler ordered Ortega held on $1,000 cash bail and ordered him to be sent to Salem to clear up the 2005 case and then held for immigration.