A Somerville man has been indicted by a grand jury for causing a head-on crash in Saugus, that killed a Lynn teen, while fleeing from police, the Essex County District Attorney’s office said.
William Leger, 35, is charged with murder, manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, unarmed robbery, receiving a stolen motor vehicle (subsequent offense), and operating with a suspended license (subsequent offense).
At approximately 10:49 a.m. June 9, Saugus Police responded to 7-Eleven on Lincoln Avenue for a report of unarmed robbery. While en route, an officer saw a vehicle matching the description of the suspect’s on Ballard Street, prosecutors said.
The officer attempted to stop the suspect, but stopped pursuit when the driver turned onto Route 107 and began traveling south on the northbound side, prosecutors said.
Approximately half a mile south, the suspect’s vehicle collided with another, driven by Ashley Forward, 19, prosecutors said.
Forward, a 2019 graduate of KIPP Academy and student at Emmanuel College, was pronounced dead at the scene. She had been on the way to visit her grandmother when the crash occurred, prosecutors said.
In a hearing held the day after the crash in Lynn District Court, prosecutors said that Leger stole a large amount of cash from the register of the 7-Eleven. Police found a large amount of cash as well as two crack pipes in the car.
Leger was previously convicted for receiving a stolen vehicle in 2017 and operating with a suspended license in 2014.
Leger is being held without bail and will be arraigned in Salem Superior Court at a later date.
