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Driver may have been doing 80 when he drunkenly killed woman crossing Morton Street after cookout, DA says

A Dorchester man was ordered held in lieu of $5,000 cash bail today on charges he drunkenly ran down a woman crossing Morton Street Saturday night.

Johnette Sims, 46, was pronounced dead at the scene on Morton Street eastbound near Canterbury Street after the 10:30 p.m. crash. Anthony Buchanan, 39, who was doing up to 80, stopped "for a couple of seconds," then drove away down the ramp to American Legion Highway - after activating his directional - Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Tai Antoine said at his arraignment in West Roxbury Municipal Court.

One witness saw "numerous items tossed in the air" on impact, Antoine said, adding Sims was crossing the eastbound side of Morton in a crosswalk from the median when struck.

State Police were able to quickly ID Buchanan, thanks to a scooter driver who had a helmet camera that recorded the crash and the car's license plate - after Buchanan nearly plowed into him - Antoine said. The plate number led them to an Enterprise car-rental station in Dorchester, which in turn pointed them to the home of Buchanan's mother, a minister at a Dorchester church.

Buchanan was not home when State Police knocked on the door, but his mother was, she said. Around 1 a.m., Buchanan, accompanied by his mother, turned himself in at Boston Police District B-3 on Blue Hill Avenue.

Under questioning by State Police detectives, Antoine said, Buchanan acknowledged he'd been at a cookout drinking Remy before the crash. He also told the where they could find his rented Dodge Charger - on Mt. Pleasant Street. He refused to take field-sobriety and breath tests, she said, adding that officers involved in his interrogation detected a strong odor of alcohol.

Antoine had asked for $15,000 bail. Buchanan's attorney, Christopher Belezos, requested lower bail.

He acknowledged that Buchanan, an accountant at the AIDS Action Committee and a volunteer for several local groups, did drive away from the scene, but noted he then turned himself in. And he told police where they could find his car and offered them his phone in case they needed its GPS information, he said. That, his local roots - he's an English High graduate - and the presence of 18 or 20 supporters in the courtroom showed he would not flee his court dates, Belezos said.

"It's a very tragic situation; he hasn't tried to hide from it," Christopher Belezos said. "He's not a threat at this point."

Members of Sims's family and friends also attended the arraignment.

Judge Mary Ann Driscoll cited the seriousness of the charges in setting bail.

Innocent, etc.

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Comments

"He hasn't tried to hide from it" Umm except for when he brutally killed someone and then drove off and then refused to take a breathalyzer when they found him. Give this scumbag life in prison. It is disgusting how many drivers get slaps on the wrist when they kill pedestrians.

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He stopped to look at the dead woman. But apart from killing someone in cold blood I'm sure he's great fellow.

He choose to drink that night. He choose to drive. He choose to drive 80. He choose to drive away.

He should be charged with 2nd degree murder. Drinking and driving is akin to shooting a gun into a crowd with a blindfold. Maybe he didn't intend to hurt anyone but he can't claim it was an innocent accident.

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and the allegations of the accused's behavior, are both horrifying.

But, as just American practice, let's let the judicial process work, not throw away our values due to anger.

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The judicial process isn't working - or, rather, it is working with outdated laws that provide massively inadequate penalties for murdering people with bad driving.

Time to get rid of the "oh gee so sorry my bad I hit and killed someone with a SPECIAL INDEMNITY DEVICE! and drove off lahdeedah" nonsense. However we can get rid of it.

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I know Anthony, or T Bone as he's known. He's a good man. He made a terrible mistake that he'll have to pay for. But I would imagine the horror of what happened will haunt him long after any sentence is served. It's terrible a family lost their loved one. Hopefully this is a lesson for all those involved to never drink and drive. RIP to the departed.

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From the description of the crime he doesn't sound like a good man. He sounds like a stupid coward who thought it would be more fun to act like a gagster and run and hide when things stopped being fun.

But he still has a chance to redeem himself. He can plead guilty, not ask for leniency, and spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to the family of the deceased while devoting himself to anti-drunk driving causes.

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A grave one. By no means am I trying to down play what happened or the fact that he was responsible. He certainly was not a gangster and didn't evenly remotely act like one. He was an accountant. My ultimate point is this is a tragic accident and someone paid with their life. Regrettably. Can't speak to why he didn't stop or why he chose to go 80. What I can say is drinking and driving is very common. I'd imagine some reading this have had two or three drinks and driven home perfectly fine. I don't think we'll ever live in a world where someone isn't drinking and driving. This does not make it ok nor is it an excuse in this instance.
Or put it this way, do you think he was the only one who drank at that party and drove away? There's a bigger conversation to be had. Btw, I do not own a car therefore I personally rarely ever drive.

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Drunk driving is no accident

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It hardly matters who else drove drunk. All that matters is that this guy voluntarily put himself in a position in which fatal collision occurred. (He did this twice: Once by drinking and driving and again by driving at 80 mph.)

His murder of the woman wasn't intentional but it was no accident.

Everyone who left the party drunk behind the wheel was playing Russian roulette. It is no excuse.

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if you drive drunk and kill someone as a result, that's not an accident. That's deliberate negligence and manslaughter.

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doesn't excuse him making a fatal mistake; inotherwords, a mistake that claimed the life of another human being. Nor does it excuse the guy who ran over and killed the woman while OUI from being locked up in prison for his crimes.

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Doing 80 mph on a city street is outrageous and he killed an innocent person. That's not just a "terrible mistake." I hope he serves good time for this but expecting he won't.

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While rolling a rented Charger and living with his Mom.

Loser.

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Drinking and driving, going 35 MPH over the speed limit, hitting someone and not stopping afterwards, on the other hand, are good signs of loserdom.

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$5000 bail and he killed somebody so sad OUT SYSTEM SUCKS they should be ashamed of themselves

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This isn't the Philippines, so people are still entitled to a jury trial, and in such a system, the purpose of bail is to ensure the person shows up in court again, not to punish them before they've been convicted.

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Where people drink cognac. WTH kind of cookout is this?

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its the kind of cookout we need to find

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You must live a very insulated life, you should diversify your company more.

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Morton Street's crazy drivng from JP to American Legion. Slow the bleep down!

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T-bone, check.
Drunk off Remy at a "cookout", check.
Rental in your own town ... and it's a Charger, check, check.
Leave it parked someplace else, check.
... so you can be good enough to tell the cops where, check.
Get your Mom and/or minister to run interference, check.
Enough supporters to outnumber your victim's supporters at your arraignment, check.
Have your friends comment here to elicit sympathy (for you, of course), check.

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