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DA: Alleged fatal hit-run driver swerved across lanes, tried to destroy evidence

An East Boston man had bail set at $25,000 today at his arraignment on charges he drove into a Revere pedestrian early yesterday, then sped away.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, a witness who had stopped at the same gas station as Ravida watched Ravida hit and kill Sothany Pen as she was walking home from work shortly before 6 a.m. yesterday:

[Assistant District Attorney Megan] O'Rourke said the witness recounted Ravida cutting across multiple lanes of traffic and then colliding with something in the area of 335 Lee Burbank Highway. The witness stopped and saw a young woman lying unresponsive in the road. Ravida, meanwhile, used the nearby turnaround and began heading south. The witness tried to flag him down to no avail.

The DA's office reports that when investigators showed up at Ravida's home with a search warrant and opened the door to his garage:

They were met by the strong odor of bleach, as if it had been used on the vehicle in the very recent past.

Prosecutors say that in an interview with investigators, Ravida admitted hitting something, but said he didn't know what - and that when he got home, he got out some tools to try to pound out dents to the SUV's front end.

Innocent, etc.

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Comments

Ravida has a lengthy driving record going back to 1987, according to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. His license has been suspended four times, and he was ruled at fault in two accidents.

When is this state going to get serious about jailing people who repeatedly use motor vehicles like lethal weapons?

If this was the fifth time he had waved a gun around and shot it randomly in the air, there wouldn't be any question.

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Elect the same lawmakers again, you Massachusetts morons. Maybe this guy can run over your daughter and leave her to die next time he's jonesing for a joyride.

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I don't know of a state that does take driving offenses seriously.

We're getting better, but it's been a long process. Not too long ago you could drive drunk, without a seat belt, while drag racing your friend and only get a verbal ass-kicking before being sent home.

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The Globe article didn't give any details on his past driving record. For all we know he's never driven drunk and just parked too far from the curb or was late getting a registration sticker a bunch of times. Quite a ways from waving a gun around. He should do jail time for killing someone sure. But we shouldn't get all Herald Comment Section because a guy with some parking tickets isn't doing life in the hole.

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Is in Egypt ...

For the rest of us, we all know you don't get that kind of driving record in this state for "not paying parking tickets". You get that kind of driving record because you are agressively incompetent, have no respect for the rules of the road, or both.

Level of inebreation while running people down and causing serious accidents is irrelevant here - the guy has demonstrated that he cannot pilot a piece of heavy equipment competently. He should not be driving, and, if he does, he should be in jail.

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print this guy's driving record, if it is deemed to be so relevant to the story?

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Basically 10 "events" count as a page. If you get pulled over for speeding, and you get cited for speeding and not wearing your seatbelt, you get 2 "events" on your record. If you don't pay the fine, the registry will notify you that your owe money, and this notification is also listed on your drivers record as an "event". Then if you still don't pay it and your license gets suspended, 2 events go on. One says something like "suspension payment default", and the other one will say something like "suspension court fee issued...". Then once it expires you get another event. Then when you pay the reinstatement fee, another event goes on your record.

So for 2 actual driving violations, you can add up another 5-15 "events" on your record just by paying, not paying, or waiting to pay.

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Parking in these cities isn't easy. I know plenty of people with $1000 worth of non-moving violations and are perfect drivers.

Just look at the firehouse picture above ;)

I agree, it should be public information and the news should have printed it if they're going to point to it as a rabble rouser.

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I thought people who are convicted of vehicular homicide often do face jail time.

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I may be wrong, but I thought our governors handed out the black robes? Seems to me a good number of our former govs were republicans. So what's the answer? Me, I'd say it's time to start electing 3rd party candidates. I think some might believe we should elect more republicans, which doesn't seem to work very well.

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Hit them with your car. If you're not drunk and you have a clean record, 3 years easy. This idiot just added about 10-12 years to his bit for taking off and then destroying evidence.

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If you are talking about murdering someone with a car, then murder is murder and the penalties are set for both first (life w/o parole) and second (life with possible parole after 15 yrs).

Motor Vehicle homicide by negligent operation is a misdemeanor ands as such, the max is 2.5 years in the county house of correction.

The max for leaving the scene of personal injury resulting in death is 10 years in state prison.

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I was referring to your second point. Also, don't they have to prove intent for it to be murder?

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You said "if you really want to kill someone". Sounded like you wanted to imply that there was intent there.

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