This story originally appeared on Brookline.News, an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to providing comprehensive local news coverage for Brookline.
Margie Mendez, an 86-year-old Brookline resident with deep ties in the community, died on April 5.
The passing of Mendez, whom relatives remember as a loving matriarch and caregiver with a strong sense of civic duty, came nearly three months after a Massachusetts State Police officer drove a police car into her body while she was using a crosswalk on Boylston Street in Chestnut Hill.
Members of her family say that they still feel in the dark about the crash, and that they are frustrated by a lack of communication and accountability from the investigating law enforcement agencies.
“It felt swept under the rug, and overlooked by the police,” said Briah Méndez Rainey, one of Mendez’s grandchildren.
Her death is being investigated by State Police officers assigned to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office, as well as the office of the state’s chief medical examiner, according to David Linton, a spokesperson for the DA’s office. Both the State Police and DA’s office declined to comment on any details of the investigation.
While Linton said the cause of Mendez’s death remains under investigation, members of Mendez’s family say that she died from serious injuries caused by the collision.
They also believe that the seriousness of the crash was downplayed by police. A spokesperson for the State Police told news outlets at the time that the cruiser that struck Mendez was traveling at a “very low speed” as it responded to another motor vehicle collision.
“The terminology used was very vague and passive,” said Sabrina Parise, another of her grandchildren.
Her grandchildren say they have not yet received any police reports from the State Police, but what they have pieced together is that Mendez, who lived in Brookline Village, was running errands in Chestnut Hill on the afternoon of Jan. 15.
She was crossing Boylston Street at the intersection with Hammond Road, when the State Police cruiser, which was turning right from Hammond Road onto the westbound side of Boylston Street, ran into her, according to Parise and Rainey.
State Police said in a previous statement to news outlets that the cruiser was responding to a call, but Rainey and Parise say they were not told that the vehicle had its lights or sirens on.
Mendez’s injuries were serious. She struck her head on the pavement, and suffered a subdural hematoma, or brain bleed, according to Parise. She was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she had emergency surgery to relieve pressure in her skull, a portion of which was removed, Parise said. She also suffered broken ribs, and her ankle was shattered.
She celebrated her 86th birthday in the intensive care unit in January, according to a GoFundMe published by the family , where she was surrounded by loved ones but unable to blow out her candles.
On April 5, she succumbed to her brain injury, her grandchildren said.
State Police denied a public records request from Brookline.News, filed on Jan. 29, seeking reports, investigative records and camera footage from the crash.
Rachel Audley, who works in the State Police legal counsel’s office, said in an email to Brookline.News on April 11 that the agency is not releasing the records because the investigation is still ongoing.
A matriarch and a patriot
Mendez, who was born in Baltimore and grew up in Virginia, moved to Boston in 1958 and then Brookline in 1977, where she lived for the rest of her life.
Her home near Brookline Village eventually became the nucleus of a large family, which included six children, 18 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. It was the family’s “HQ,” Rainey said, after school, on Christmas Day, and every time in between.
“She was our matriarch,” said Parise. “She was all the quintessential things a grandma is. She kept your belly full, wrapped you in her warmth, and always made you feel her love.”
Even at 86, she was a full-time caregiver for Rafael, her husband of 55 years, who has dementia. She was highly independent, and would often go shopping for friends who had limited mobility.
Mendez also had a strong sense of civic duty and patriotism. In November 2020, she was featured in a Brookline Tab article, because she was the first person to show up to vote in the presidential election. She arrived at Town Hall at 5:30 a.m., wearing an American flag face mask along with her face shield and a walking boot.
She passed those beliefs down to her children and grandchildren.
“She would say, ‘You know, your grandma’s a patriot,’” said Parise. “She had American flags all over her car. And she took me to vote as soon as I turned 18.”
She also often cared for the children of friends and neighbors and was known as an unofficial grandma to many Brookline residents, said Rainey.
And she was a sports and game lover, a dedicated Red Sox and Patriots fan who loved to bowl, compete in Bingo and card games, and play in Scrabble tournaments with her children.
The family is still reeling from the loss.
“Everybody knows their grandmother doesn’t live forever. But they’re not supposed to go this way,” said Rainey. “And what’s so upsetting is that although she was here to love me for 30 years, it doesn’t feel like enough.”
A wake and viewing is scheduled for Thursday, April 17 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Bell O’Dea Funeral Home (376 Washington Street). A burial will follow on Friday, April 18 at 12 noon at the Walnut Hill Cemetery in Chestnut Hill.
Claire Law contributed reporting.
