Boston drunk driving victim has been waiting for years for justice – NBC Boston

Nearly six years after an alleged drunk driver struck and disabled a Brockton, Massachusetts, man, his family is still waiting for their day in court.

Kesnel Belony was delivering food in Boston, near South Station, when he was hit by a car and thrown from his scooter in November 2018. His cousin Dinie Okonkwo said he suffered serious brain injuries and was in a coma for four months.

“After two months, the doctor told us he was brain dead and we have to make a decision about his life,” Okonkwo said. She did not lose confidence.

“They said he would never walk again, he would never speak again and he would spend the rest of his life with a tracheasis and a feeding tube. He defeated all expectations.”

Belony, 44, once an active father of two, now uses a wheelchair, struggles with his speech and lives in a nursing home.

“It’s bad. I can’t see my daughter. I can’t see my son,” Belony said.

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The criminal trial against the driver, now 38-year-old Marcella Castiello, has been postponed several times – initially due to the pandemic.

“We were told by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office that it was being prosecuted again due to a lack of judges,” said Paul Baker, an attorney representing Belony. “The last time it went ahead, about six months ago, we were told the reason was because certain witnesses were unavailable. Every time it is continued we seem to get another excuse.

A spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that the trial has also been delayed due to numerous requests from the defense.

“The most obvious strategy in a case like this is to delay again and again,” Baker said. “The longer it takes, the more likely it is to be rejected.”

According to the police report from the night of the crash, the responding officer noticed that the driver smelled of alcohol, had glassy, ​​bloodshot eyes and was slurring his words. Breath tests showed her alcohol level was above the legal limit and surveillance video collected by investigators captured the impact.

“If it was Kisnel who hit that woman, he would have been tried and convicted. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now – just to show you that there is only one justice system in America, not for people who look like Kismel and me,” Okonkwo said. “It’s painful to talk about it. It hurts, it makes you angry, but what can you do? We just have to wait and see if justice will be done.”

Castiello has her driver’s license suspended and is ordered not to drive until the case is resolved.

The jury trial was scheduled to take place this week, but has been postponed again until September.