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Fatal Hit-Run Crash: Man, Woman Indicted In Central Mass Wreck That Killed 20-Year-Old

A grand jury indicted a couple in connection with a fatal 2022 hit-and-run that killed a woman as she was on her way home from work, officials said. 

Shrewsbury Police Department

Shrewsbury Police Department

Photo Credit: Facebook/Shrewsbury Police Department

Jerry Santiago Jr., age 25, was charged with motor vehicle homicide, motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, leaving the scene of a personal injury crash resulting in death, driving as to endanger, and driving a motor vehicle without a license, the Worcester District Attorney Office announced on Tuesday, Feb. 14. 

Justina Riopelle, 22, was charged with being an accessory after the fact, the prosecutor said. 

Santiago is accused of crashing a Dodge Journey into Ghufran Mutar as she crossed Route 9 on Oct. 30, officials said. She was on her way home from working a shift at CVS. 

Paramedics rushed Mutar to UMass Memorial Medical Center, but doctors couldn't save her life. 

Mutar was also a graduate of Burncoat High School in 2020. 

Police said they found the Journey a day after the crash. It had front damage to the front passenger side of the vehicle, officials said. 

Santiago was in custody on a $50,000 bond, the prosecutor said. 

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