70-year-old Brockton woman sentenced to House of Correction after fatal head-on crash that injured two others

BROCKTON – A Brockton woman has been found guilty of being drunk and behind the wheel when she crashed her car into another motor vehicle, killing one person, and seriously injuring two others, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced today. 

Friday, at the conclusion of a bench trial, Brockton Superior Court Judge William Sullivan found Jeanne Heenan, 70, guilty of felony Motor Vehicle Homicide while Under the Influence of Alcohol and Negligent. Judge Sullivan ordered Heenan sentenced to one year in the House of Correction, with credit for time already served, and a mandatory 15-year loss of her license to operate a motor vehicle. 

On October 12, 2018, Brockton Police were dispatched to a motor vehicle crash at 470 North Quincy Street. Upon arrival at the scene of the two-car crash, Heenan was on a stretcher and being placed into an ambulance. Heenan was operating a 2015 Buick Encore when it crossed over the marked lane into oncoming traffic and struck a 2006 Nissan Altima head-on. Inside the Altima were the motor vehicle operator, and a front and rear passenger, all with injuries.

The three Altima occupants were transported to the hospital for treatment. Rear seat passenger, 72-year-old Ethel Rezendes, sustained life- threatening injuries. She remained hospitalized until her death on May 1, 2021. The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that Rezendes’s cause of death was complications of blunt force injuries sustained in the crash.

Investigators determined that Heenan was travelling 56 mph five seconds before the crash.

After the crash, investigators said Heenan’s eyes were dilated, she was slurring her words, and she smelled of alcohol. Heenan’s medical records revealed that Heenan had an average blood alcohol concentration of .20%. 

On August 30, 2019, Heenan pleaded guilty to three counts of Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Bodily Injury with Recklessness. She received a sentence of two years in the House of Corrections, with 9 months to serve and the balance suspended for two and a half years probation. 

Following Rezendes’s death, the Commonwealth sought, and a Plymouth County grand jury returned an indictment charging Heenan with Manslaughter by Motor Vehicle. After the bench trial, the Commonwealth requested Heenan serve 10 years to 10 years and one day in state prison with the mandatory 15-year license loss. 

Rezendes is remembered as kind, welcoming, and would never hurt a soul. She enjoyed playing bingo and was a lover of cats and dogs.

Assistant District Attorney David Cutshall prosecuted the case, which was investigated by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and the Brockton Police.