Brockton Man Accused of Using RAV4 As Murder Weapon
A Brockton man is being charged with murder after allegedly driving his Toyota RAV4 multiple times over a pedestrian in downtown Brockton on Saturday morning.
According to a press release from the Plymouth District Attorney’s Office, Brockton Police responded to several 911 calls reporting a crash near 65 North Main Street in downtown Brockton around 8:53 a.m. Saturday morning.
Police found their suspect, 45-year-old Vasco Semedo of Brockton, being detained by bystanders on the scene.
The victim, later identified as 50 year-old Stuart Smith, was allegedly found unresponsive on the pavement in front of Semedo’s vehicle, a Toyota RAV4.
Smith was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital and pronounced dead of his injuries Saturday night.
Brockton Police allege that, according to witness accounts and surveillance video, Semedo drove his RAV4 into his victim, backed up, then drove the RAV4 over his victim once again.
Semedo then allegedly exited his vehicle and struck Smith with a brick as Smith lay on the ground.
While the investigation is ongoing, Semedo is scheduled to be arraigned on murder charges on Monday in Brockton District Court, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Brockton ranks among the Commonwealth’s more dangerous cities for traffic violence, especially for people walking on foot. Drivers have killed at least three pedestrians within the city limits every year since 2019, according to MassDOT’s IMPACT crash database.
The area of Main Street is lined with multi-story apartments and low-rise commercial buildings, and appears to be a relatively typical two-lane city street with on-street parking.
However, the area is also a hot spot for dangerous driving behavior. MassDOT’s crash database shows that there have been over 183 reported crashes within 500 feet of the corner of Spring and North Main since the beginning of 2019, and a high proportion of those crashes (74, or 40 percent) resulted in a non-fatal injury.
By way of comparison, the same database records 72 crashes, of which 20 (28 percent) resulted in an injury, within 500 feet intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect, and River Streets in Central Square in Cambridge for the same period.
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