Driver arraigned in hospital for crash that killed two

WORCESTER â€"  Robert J. Curran was allegedly driving more than 80 mph when he crashed into another car at Chandler and Piedmont streets Sunday morning, leaving two young city men in the other car dead, a prosecutor said yesterday.

Mr. Curran, 22, of 33 Buttercup Lane, Grafton, sat quietly yesterday in a chair next to his hospital bed at UMass Memorial Medical Center â€" University Campus, with his hands folded, as Assistant District Attorney Brett F. Dillon detailed the allegations.

“Mr. Curran’s operation of that vehicle was reckless, to say the least,” the prosecutor said. “Witnesses have him going between 80 to 100 mph and colliding with these young men.”

Mr. Curran allegedly slammed his 2001 white Acura into a 2005 blue Acura driven by 18-year-old Andres Guzman at 2 a.m. Mr. Guzman and 19-year-old Joel Rodriguez were killed in the crash. Another passenger in Mr. Guzman’s car, Jesus Molina, 19, of Worcester, remains in critical condition at UMass Memorial Medical Center â€" University Campus, according to police.

State Registry of Motor Vehicle records show Mr. Curran has a history of driving offenses with several pages of infractions starting in 2005. His license was suspended at the time of Sunday’s accident. The record shows from February to September in 2009 Mr. Curran had four speeding tickets in Upton, Grafton and Hopkinton.

Mr. Dillon asked that Mr. Curran be held on $100,000 cash bail, calling him a flight risk. The prosecutor noted the car Mr. Curran drove at the time of the accident was registered in South Carolina.

Defense lawyer Andrea Levy said her client has no convictions on his record and recently had been in South Carolina visiting his mother and young brother who is a Marine. Mr. Curran works in Massachusetts and has strong family ties here, she said. She wanted her client released on personal recognizance.

After the arraignment at the hospital, Ms. Levy had no further comment. She had just met her client earlier in the day and was still in the process of reviewing police reports.

Judge Margaret Guzman ordered Mr. Curran held on $20,000 cash bail and continued his case to Nov. 8. He was charged with two counts of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident after causing death, negligent driving, leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury, speeding, leaving the scene after causing property damage and driving with a suspended license. Not guilty pleas were entered.

Mr. Curran allegedly took off from the accident scene after speaking to a paramedic. Mr. Dillon said Mr. Curran first went to Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard in Webster, but was transferred to UMass Memorial Medical Center â€" University Campus.

Mr. Curran allegedly told hospital staff he was injured in a bar fight, court records show.

Mr. Curran was standing outside his car when paramedics arrived, Officer James T. Foley wrote in a report. A male passenger in Mr. Curran’s car was not identified in the police report, and his condition was not released. Mr. Curran allegedly told the paramedic he was in the car and his chest hurt from the airbag. The only non-occupied seat in the car at that time with a front airbag deployed was the driver’s seat, the officer wrote.

The paramedic helped with other patients, then turned to see if Mr. Curran needed medical treatment, but he was gone, Officer Foley wrote.

The paramedic spoke to investigators and later at the police station identified Mr. Curran in a photograph array as the man he spoke to next to the white Acura. The paramedic said the injuries discussed by Mr. Curran were consistent with being struck by the driver’s side airbag.