Driver that plowed through Hingham Apple Store indicted for murder

Comments

• Reply 1 of 14

  DAalseth Posts: 2,783member

  March 29, 2023 1:03PM

  Second Degree and Assault sounds about right. 

  
• Reply 2 of 14

  plymouthpatsfan Posts: 33member

  March 29, 2023 3:10PM

  sad to see this, but I never felt that it was accidental.  justice for the victims.

  
• Reply 3 of 14

  DAalseth Posts: 2,783member

  March 29, 2023 3:53PM

  plymouthpatsfan said:

  sad to see this, but I never felt that it was accidental.  justice for the victims.

  I never thought it was deliberate. I’ve read too many cases of where someone huts the brake, but has their foot on the gas without realizing it. The car accelerates rather than stopping, and they panic. They push harder and harder on what they think is the brake and the car just goes faster. It’s not really that uncommon of an accident. 
  
  And no there will be no justice in this case. The people hit are still harmed. He will be punished for a stupid accident, not deliberate assault (and what will his spending ten years or so in jail going to do for the victims). Everyones lives will be ruined. Nobody will win.

  edited March 2023
• Reply 4 of 14

  plymouthpatsfan Posts: 33member

  March 29, 2023 4:23PM

  DAalseth said:

  plymouthpatsfan said:

  sad to see this, but I never felt that it was accidental.  justice for the victims.

  I never thought it was deliberate. I’ve read too many cases of where someone huts the brake, but has their foot on the gas without realizing it. The car accelerates rather than stopping, and they panic. They push harder and harder on what they think is the brake and the car just goes faster. It’s not really that uncommon of an accident. 
  
  And no there will be no justice in this case. The people hit are still harmed. He will be punished for a stupid accident, not deliberate assault (and what will his spending ten years or so in jail going to do for the victims). Everyones lives will be ruined. Nobody will win.

  I drive a 4Runner and I've been there many times.  I'm going to go with law enforcement and the prosecutors who have all the evidence and have decided to charge him with murder and vehicular homicide.  

  
• Reply 5 of 14

  ronn Posts: 653member

  March 29, 2023 5:20PM

  I thought it was more than "just an accident," but like his lawyer, I am astounded by the murder charge. 

  
• Reply 6 of 14

  plymouthpatsfan Posts: 33member

  March 29, 2023 8:36PM

  ronn said:

  I thought it was more than "just an accident," but like his lawyer, I am astounded by the murder charge. 

  Grand Jury in Massachusetts
  
  A quorum of thirteen grand jurors must be present to hear any evidence, consider any proposed indictment, or take any other official action.

  An indictment may be found only upon the concurrence of twelve or more jurors. The indictment shall be returned by the grand jury to a judge in open court unless for reasons of public safety or security the judge decides to take the return of the indictment remotely.

  
• Reply 7 of 14

  davidw Posts: 2,050member

  March 29, 2023 8:45PM

  DAalseth said:

  plymouthpatsfan said:

  sad to see this, but I never felt that it was accidental.  justice for the victims.

  I never thought it was deliberate. I’ve read too many cases of where someone huts the brake, but has their foot on the gas without realizing it. The car accelerates rather than stopping, and they panic. They push harder and harder on what they think is the brake and the car just goes faster. It’s not really that uncommon of an accident. 
  
  And no there will be no justice in this case. The people hit are still harmed. He will be punished for a stupid accident, not deliberate assault (and what will his spending ten years or so in jail going to do for the victims). Everyones lives will be ruined. Nobody will win.

  
  

  Not in this case. From another article, the driver told authorities that his right foot got stuck on the accelerator and he tried to stop by pressing the brake pedal with his left foot. Then no way would he had thought of trying to use his left foot to press on the brake pedal, if he already thought he was pressing it with his right foot.

  
  

  Not saying it proves he did this on purpose but negligence don't alleviate him of any responsibilities for causing the crash. 
  

  
  

  https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/driver-who-crashed-into-apple-store-charged-with-17866403.php

  
  

  >Rein told police he was looking for an eyeglasses store at the shopping center when his right foot became stuck on the accelerator, according to court documents. He said he used his left foot to try to brake but couldn’t stop.<

  
  

  
  

  
• Reply 8 of 14

  ronn Posts: 653member

  March 30, 2023 12:23AM

  plymouthpatsfan said:

  ronn said:

  I thought it was more than "just an accident," but like his lawyer, I am astounded by the murder charge. 

  Grand Jury in Massachusetts
  
  A quorum of thirteen grand jurors must be present to hear any evidence, consider any proposed indictment, or take any other official action.

  An indictment may be found only upon the concurrence of twelve or more jurors. The indictment shall be returned by the grand jury to a judge in open court unless for reasons of public safety or security the judge decides to take the return of the indictment remotely.

  I understand the Grand Jury Process. But Murder? Talk about an overcharge.
  
  

  Second-Degree Murder in Massachusetts
  
  In the Commonwealth, a person commits second-degree murder when he or she intentionally kills another person, but does so without any premeditation. The killing must be done with with malice aforethought.
  
  These sorts of killings occur in the heat of the moment, but do not involve any premeditation on the part of the perpetrator. At the moment the murder occurs, the killer definitely intends to kill the victim, but up to that moment, the killer had no intent or plan to commit murder.

  From the time of the crash till the indictment there's been no info shared that would warrant a murder charge instead of homicide. That's why Rein's lawyer and even other lawyers/law experts have expressed shock with the murder charge in this case. Will be interesting to see if additional info comes out or if the prosecutor will drop that charge.

  
• Reply 9 of 14

  plymouthpatsfan Posts: 33member

  March 30, 2023 12:52AM

  ronn said:

  plymouthpatsfan said:

  ronn said:

  I thought it was more than "just an accident," but like his lawyer, I am astounded by the murder charge. 

  Grand Jury in Massachusetts
  
  A quorum of thirteen grand jurors must be present to hear any evidence, consider any proposed indictment, or take any other official action.

  An indictment may be found only upon the concurrence of twelve or more jurors. The indictment shall be returned by the grand jury to a judge in open court unless for reasons of public safety or security the judge decides to take the return of the indictment remotely.

  I understand the Grand Jury Process. But Murder? Talk about an overcharge.
  
  

  Second-Degree Murder in Massachusetts
  
  In the Commonwealth, a person commits second-degree murder when he or she intentionally kills another person, but does so without any premeditation. The killing must be done with with malice aforethought.
  
  These sorts of killings occur in the heat of the moment, but do not involve any premeditation on the part of the perpetrator. At the moment the murder occurs, the killer definitely intends to kill the victim, but up to that moment, the killer had no intent or plan to commit murder.

  From the time of the crash till the indictment there's been no info shared that would warrant a murder charge instead of homicide. That's why Rein's lawyer and even other lawyers/law experts have expressed shock with the murder charge in this case. Will be interesting to see if additional info comes out or if the prosecutor will drop that charge.

  Grand jury proceedings are behind closed doors, right?  Defense will get everything during discovery ahead of the trial unless they settle. 

  
• Reply 10 of 14

  ronn Posts: 653member

  March 30, 2023 12:57AM

  plymouthpatsfan said:

  ronn said:

  plymouthpatsfan said:

  ronn said:

  I thought it was more than "just an accident," but like his lawyer, I am astounded by the murder charge. 

  Grand Jury in Massachusetts
  
  A quorum of thirteen grand jurors must be present to hear any evidence, consider any proposed indictment, or take any other official action.

  An indictment may be found only upon the concurrence of twelve or more jurors. The indictment shall be returned by the grand jury to a judge in open court unless for reasons of public safety or security the judge decides to take the return of the indictment remotely.

  I understand the Grand Jury Process. But Murder? Talk about an overcharge.
  
  

  Second-Degree Murder in Massachusetts
  
  In the Commonwealth, a person commits second-degree murder when he or she intentionally kills another person, but does so without any premeditation. The killing must be done with with malice aforethought.
  
  These sorts of killings occur in the heat of the moment, but do not involve any premeditation on the part of the perpetrator. At the moment the murder occurs, the killer definitely intends to kill the victim, but up to that moment, the killer had no intent or plan to commit murder.

  From the time of the crash till the indictment there's been no info shared that would warrant a murder charge instead of homicide. That's why Rein's lawyer and even other lawyers/law experts have expressed shock with the murder charge in this case. Will be interesting to see if additional info comes out or if the prosecutor will drop that charge.

  Grand jury proceedings are behind closed doors, right?  Defense will get everything during discovery ahead of the trial unless they settle. 

  Right now it looks like the DA is trying to force a plea from Rein.
• Reply 11 of 14

  BlueLightning Posts: 128member

  March 30, 2023 7:15AM

  Will be interested to hear the final verdict.  
  
  Wondering if the Police/DA found any relevant social media posts.  
  
  If prosecution can prove intent, in addition to time in jail, should consider giving victims any vehicles and homes owned by the defendant, as well as any other high value items (including businesses) owned by the defendant (or cash generated from their sale).  With 22 injuries and 1 death, I doubt he has enough liability insurance.  Legal fees alone could be staggering.  ALSO, never allowed to drive again in the state.  In addition to criminal charges, there could be civil charges (remember OJ beat the criminal charges, but spent jail time on civil charges that came later).  
  
  Have noticed a tendency for some accelerators to catch the toe of a shoe.  Defendant could consider an action against the truck/suv manufacturer (assuming he did not customize the pedal).  Are companies going to have to put crash barriers around their stores (like US Federal Courts)?  

  edited March 2023
• Reply 12 of 14

  plymouthpatsfan Posts: 33member

  March 30, 2023 2:14PM

  posted this before... it's a fairly serious left turn to enter the store the way he did.  going 60MPH means he was flooring it for a long time.  I drive a 4Runner and have been there many times.  I'm sure they have some evidence from the vehicle to support the claim that this wasn't accidental.  
  
  
  

  

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• Reply 13 of 14

  indiekiduk Posts: 381member

  March 31, 2023 7:35AM

  Should have sold the car when his foot got stuck the first time on the highway. 
  
  

  https://twitter.com/ksullivannews/status/1595072606100721666

  
  
  I wonder if he was wearing the same trainers the first time it happened.
  
  It would be interesting to hear more detail on what his foot is getting stuck on. My guess would be its getting stuck on the center console panels which the pedal is very close to for some reason. Maybe its a design flaw in Toyotas that are converted to right hand drive where normally in left hand drive the pedal would be no where near the center console.

  edited March 2023
• Reply 14 of 14

  plymouthpatsfan Posts: 33member

  March 31, 2023 4:21PM

  that's his statement... but I drive a 4Runner and don't buy it for a second.  Even if I did it's not a straight line to enter the Apple Store, he had to deliberately steer the vehicle to get it to where it crashed into the glass.