Bristol County man sentenced to prison in Fall River after driving 50 miles over speed limit before fatal crash

A 28-year-old Bristol County man whose reckless operation of a motor vehicle resulted in the death of 37-year-old Scott Lewis during an April 2020 crash in Easton was sentenced to serve two to three in years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Jake McCabe of Easton pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court earlier this month to an indictment charging him with Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle-Homicide.

On April 26, 2020, officers from the Easton Police department responded to the area of 539 Bay Road for the report of a two-car accident with one operator trapped inside of his vehicle. When officers arrived on scene, they observed a White Cadillac Escalade with heavy front end damage. A man later identified as McCabe had just exited the Escalade and officers determined that he was the operator and sole occupant of the vehicle. The defendant made a statement confirming that he was driving the car when the accident occurred, claiming that both he and the other vehicle crossed the center dividing line at the same time.

Officers also responded to the second vehicle involved in the accident, a black Kia Rio, and made observations that the sole occupant and operator, Scott Lewis, was trapped inside and obviously deceased. The Kia Rio had suffered catastrophic damage and the jaws of life were needed to extract Mr. Lewis from his car. Several civilian witnesses approached officers and told them that they had observed the white Cadillac travelling at an excessive rate of speed just prior to the accident. One resident provided a Ring doorbell video of the Escalade driving at a high rate of speed a few seconds before the collision.

A witness who was driving directly behind Lewis as the cars approached an “S” curve in the road, told police that Lewis was operating in an appropriate manner and speed as he approached the curve. At that curve, he saw the white Escalade drive into the turn from the opposite direction at a high rate of speed. The witness told police the Escalade lost control of his vehicle and crossed the double yellow line and collided with Lewis’s Kia.

Members of the accident reconstruction unit of the Massachusetts State Police were brought in to assist with the investigation. An analysis of the Escalade determined McCabe was operating at 80 MPH five seconds before the collision and at 61 MPH when the vehicles collided. The posted speed limit is 30 MPH where the accident occurred.

In addition to the state prison sentence, McCabe also had his driver’s license revoked for 15 years.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jason Mohan.

“The defendant was clearly operating his motor vehicle in a reckless manner, which caused the death of the victim. This was a terrible loss for the victim’s family and my heart goes out to them. I’m glad the defendant accepted responsibility for his actions,” District Attorney Quinn said.