Nearly six years after an alleged drunk driver hit a Brockton, Massachusetts, man and left him disabled, 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 of 2018. His cousin Dinie Okonkwo said he suffered a severe brain injury and was in a coma for four months.
“After two months the doctor told us that he was braindead and we have to make a decision about his life,” said Okonkwo. She didn’t lose faith.
“They said he would never walk again, he will never speak again and he is going to spend the rest of his life with a trach, with a feeding tube. He beat all odds.”
Once an active father of two, 44-year-old Belony now uses a wheelchair, struggles with his speech, and lives in a nursing home.
“It is bad. I can’t see my daughter. I can’t see my son,” said Belony.
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The criminal trial for the driver, now 38-year-old Marcella Castiello has been rescheduled multiple times—initially due to the pandemic.
“We were told by the Suffolk County DA’s office that it was continued yet again because of a lack of judges,” said Paul Baker, an attorney representing Belony. “The last time it was continued approximately 6 months ago we were told the reason was that certain witnesses were unavailable. Every time its continued we seem to get a different excuse.”
A spokeperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office confirmed the trial has also been delayed by numerous motions from the defense.
“The most obvious strategy in a case like this is to delay over and over again,” said Baker. “The longer it goes on the more likely it will be dismissed.”
The police report from the night of the crash says the responding officer observed the driver smelled like alcohol, had glassy, bloodshot eyes, and slurred her words. Breath tests found her alcohol level was above the legal limit and surveillance video collected by investigators captured the impact.
“If that was Kisnel that hit that woman, he would have been trialed, and sentenced. We wouldn’t even have this conversation right now–just to show you there is only one justice system in America, not for people who look like Kismel and I,” said Okonkwo. “It’s painful to talk about it. It hurts, it gets you angry, but what can you do. We just have to sit and wait and see if justice will be done.”
Castiello had 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 to September.
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