10-year-old girl killed in fatal Westport crash identified, Fall River driver cited

The 10-year-old New Bedford girl who died early Sunday morning during a three-car motor vehicle crash on Route 6 in Westport can now be publicly identified as Anilda Ribeiro.

According to Gregg Miliote of the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, at 2:15 a.m. Sunday, Westport Police responded to Route 6 in the area of the Route 88 interchange for a report of a serious motor vehicle crash. When police and paramedics arrived on scene, they found multiple injured individuals, most of whom were transported to area hospitals.

The most seriously injured, Anilda Ribeiro and her 9-year-old sister, were both rushed to the hospital. Anilda was pronounced deceased at St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River early Sunday morning and the 9-year-old is in serious condition at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.

A preliminary investigation has revealed that a white Subaru WRX being driven by a 29-year-old New Bedford woman made minor contact with the rear end of a Toyota Tundra, which was being driven by a 43-year-old New Bedford woman. The parties in both vehicles had been driving back to New Bedford from a party.

Both vehicles stopped in the left travel lane to assess the damage before agreeing to deal with it later. As both vehicles were about to continue driving, a Jeep Grand Cherokee being driven by Robert Silvia, a 29-year-old Fall River man, crashed into the rear of the Subaru, pushing it into the Tundra.

The deceased and her sister were apparently sitting in the rear seat of the Subaru at the time of the incident.

Miliotte stated that Silvia was issued a citation by Westport Police for Motor Vehicle Homicide by Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle last night. He will be summonsed into Fall River District Court for a Clerk Magistrate’s Hearing at a later date. A clerk will then determine if probable cause exists to formally charge him with the crime of Motor Vehicle Homicide by Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle​.

The crash is under investigation by Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned the Bristol County District Attorney Office, Massachusetts State Police Reconstruction Unit and Westport Police.​