Man sentenced for leaving scene of fatal Saugus accident

SALEM – A judge sentenced an East Boston man to six to nine years in state prison for leaving the scene of a 2007 accident that killed two pedestrians on Route 1 in Saugus.”Justice has been served, thank God,” Marie Zullo, the mother of one of the victims, said outside the Salem Superior Court courtroom Tuesday.Michael Tranchita, 35, was found guilty of leaving the scene of personal injury resulting in death in connection with the deaths of Tina Tello, 33, of Stoneham and Christopher Zullo, 28, of Everett on Jan. 5, 2007.Police responded at 11:35 p.m. on that night to a crash on Route 1 south in Saugus which involved a vehicle and two pedestrians. Tello and Zullo were trying to cross Route 1 near Essex Street – an area not designated for pedestrian travel – when they were hit by a vehicle traveling southbound.Tello was pronounced dead at the scene. Zullo was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where he died two days later.Judge Timothy Q. Feeley found Tranchita guilty in the case on Nov. 17 after a bench trial. Tranchita was taken into custody for a sentencing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.Family members spoke Tuesday of their grief from the event and said their pain was only exacerbated by Tranchita’s subsequent attempts to cover up the incident.”He turned a tragic accident into something much more,” Tello’s father, Michael Cowels Sr. wrote in a letter read to the court by his son. “He called his father, lawyer and a tow company while two people lay in the road.”Essex Assistant District Attorney James Gubitose acknowledged that Tranchita was solely charged with and convicted of leaving the scene of a fatal accident. But Gubitose said Tranchita’s subsequent attempts to cover up the incident were “frankly, who he is.”Gubitose told the court Tranchita took the first exit following the accident, immediately tried to get an auto body shop to repair the vehicle, removed incriminating evidence from the car, lied about what happened to the vehicle and asked others to lie on his behalf about what had happened, Gubitose said.Gubitose also noted a 2009 Facebook post by Tranchita. Gubitose said the post referred to charges against Tranchita in two unrelated cases as well as investigations into two hit-and-run accidents (including the Saugus incident) in which Tranchita was a suspect but had not been charged.”The post said… ?finally back home: ?Tranchita 4: Commonwealth 0 – undefeated, bitches!'” Gubitose told the court. “He thought of no one but himself on that night. He wasn’t concerned about them? he wasn’t concerned about anything except hiding himself and his truck.”Gubitose suggested a 7- to 9-year state prison sentence.Defense attorney Michael Cioffi disputed Gubitose’s interpretation of the Facebook post – saying his client was referring to four cases in which he represented Tranchita that resulted in a dismissal or not guilty. (Tranchita was convicted of a malicious destruction charge when he was 18.)Cioffi also said the incident had “fractured” the Tranchita family as well as the Zullo and Tello families.”No one’s going to give him points for the activity in which he was involved after the accident,” Cioffi said. “But you have to sentence Tranchita for the conduct described in the conviction.”Cioffi urged either a 2?-year house of correction sentence or a 2-year sentence in state prison.Tranchita himself then apologized to the families and asked for leniency.”I ask that one bad decision doesn’t define the rest of my life or my daughter’s life,” Tranchita said. “I ask that you just give me a break and give me the chance to do the right thing, raise my daughter and be a good person.”Feeley noted in determining the sentence that although Tranchita caused the two deaths, he was not charged with or convicted of manslaughter or motor vehicle homicide. But Feeley also said Tranchita repeatedly tried to, essentially, leave the scene of death, to avoid responsibility.”In addition to the flight, he had affirmative conduct that was