Driver Charged With Leaving For Dead Passenger Who Fell Onto 128 In Burlington
BOSTON (CBS) – Authorities say a man whose body was found on Route 128 in Burlington in July had fallen out of a truck and was left for dead by the driver who continued on his way to Maine.
The driver, Nicandro Velasquez, 50, of Haughton, La., was arraigned Thursday in Woburn District Court on charges of leaving the scene of a death and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
Prosecutors say Velasquez was driving the truck to Maine for work with 54-year-old Cliserio Cordova Ferral, also of Louisiana, when Ferral fell out of the truck onto the highway the night of July 26. According to authorities, Velasquez knew Ferral was hurt but instead of getting him help Velasquez kept driving to their Maine destination.
Other drivers reported to police that a body was lying on the highway near the Winn Street exit in the northbound lanes.
State police later located a truck and trailer in Orland, Maine matching one seen near Burlington the night Ferral's body was found.
Judge Cesar Archilla ordered Velasquez held on $4,000 cash bail and the conditions that he surrenders his passport and not drive a motor vehicle.
Velasquez is due back in court Sept. 18 for a probable cause hearing.
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