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September 11, 2009

Cops, DA refuse to name driver in crash that killed teen

By Stacie N. Galang

MARBLEHEAD — Neither the police nor the Essex County district attorney is releasing the name of the driver who struck and killed Marblehead High School student Allie Castner, saying the case is still under investigation and therefore exempt from the state's public records law.

On Aug. 28, The Salem News filed a request in writing for the driver's name, the police report and any additional reports related to the fatal Aug. 24 accident. Both agencies responded in writing this week, invoking the "investigatory" exemption as their reason for withholding the information.

Police Chief Robert Picariello and District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said they could not be certain when they would release additional details of the accident.

Salem News attorney Robert Bertsche disputed the authorities' interpretation of the law.

"This law, the public records law, is aimed at ensuring that the people know what the government is doing," he said.

Bertsche said the "investigatory" exemption permits, but does not require, authorities to withhold information. To legally keep information from the public, the government must prove that the details of an incident, if disclosed, would somehow prejudice law enforcement's case.

"It's not a question of 'who done it.' They know who did it," Bertsche said. "It would be one thing if the suspect were on the loose and didn't know (he) was being sought. That's simply not the case here."

A popular Marblehead High School student, Castner, 15, was struck at the intersection of Mohawk Road and Pleasant Street while she apparently crossed the street on foot. Her death has rocked the close-knit community.

Dozens of distraught teens turned up at the site the day after the accident to mourn Castner, who would have been a sophomore this year.

Blodgett said this week that his office is awaiting the final reconstruction report from state police and other scientific tests.

"The name will not be released, which is consistent with our policy since I became DA," he said. "That's the law."

Once he receives the results and his office decides whether to file charges, the name will be released, Blodgett said.

Picariello said Tuesday that he has no time frame within which he expects to release the driver's name.

"Mine is a job which I do correctly, thoroughly and not with a deadline," he said. "I'm doing the job the way I think I should do my job."

The chief said his department has no specific policy for releasing the names of people involved in accidents but went on to explain how the department handles investigations.

"When things are under investigation and the investigation is ongoing, we do have a policy of not releasing the names until the investigation is complete," Picariello said.

Bertsche said the law requires government agencies to provide all the information they can, and the burden rests on the government to prove why the release of information would prejudice their case.

"One can only speculate as to what the motive of the police might be," Bertsche said. "One could imagine in certain circumstances they might want to spare somebody having their name disclosed when they were involved in a horrible accident."

The attorney said it's human to want to spare somebody the embarrassment of the public spotlight, but that's not a legal reason to keep it out of public view.

"When information is not given out, it breeds suspicion and breeds rumor," he said. "When they don't reveal the name of the person involved, it invariably raises questions like what is being hidden and why is it being hidden."

The attorney said it was a stretch to believe that nothing in the accident report could be released. He further doubted that the disclosure of the information would prevent an effective investigation.

Bertsche said it's even possible that the release of the driver's name might bring other witnesses forward who could shed light on the circumstances of the driver or a past accident in which the driver may have been involved.

The name of the driver matters to the public, the attorney said. If the driver were the son or daughter of an elected official or perhaps a popular athlete, that information makes a difference.

The Salem News will appeal the police and district attorney's decision to reject its public records request.

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