His attorney: ‘He is not guilty of any crime, and we expect … that the truth will come out at trial’
A Mass State Police sergeant accused of drunkenly crashing his cruiser into a wheelchair van in 2023, leading to the death of one of the occupants, pleaded not guilty to a motor vehicle homicide charge in court Wednesday.
Sgt. Scott Quigley was released on personal recognizance after his arraignment at Middlesex County Superior Court on conditions that he not contact certain witnesses in the case.
Following his appearance, Quigley’s attorney, Christina Pujals Ronan, rejected allegations of a coverup, challenged the reliability of the blood-alcohol test taken after the crash, and said her client will be vindicated.
“He is not guilty of any crime, and we expect … that the truth will come out at trial,” Ronan said.
Quigley was indicted last month, more than two years after the crash occurred in Woburn, following allegations that he was drunk at the time were made public in the middle of a Lowell murder trial Quigley had investigated.
Prosecutors in the Middlesex County Superior Court trial said they only became aware of the allegations after they arose in a wrongful death suit filed by the family of crash victim Angelo Schettino.
Schettino, a Special Olympian, was injured in the Woburn crash and died in the hospital about a month later.
According to the prosecution’s statement of the case, Quigley left the DA’s office in Woburn around 3 p.m. Dec. 12, 2023, and went out with another trooper to a nearby bar, sharing “light food and six drinks between them.”
They left separately around 4:30 p.m. and drove home in their unmarked State Police vehicles.
Prosecutors said electronic data from Quigley’s vehicle showed he was traveling 59 mph in a 35 mph zone on Lexington Street when he crossed the centerline and struck the wheelchair van carrying Schettino, who was being driven back to his group home in Lynn.
A blood sample taken from Quigley at 6 p.m., a little over an hour after the crash, showed an alcohol level above the legal limit. When a hospital staffer told him the result days later, Quigley reportedly said he was surprised because he had consumed “one drink,” according to prosecutors.
After the crash, Quigley was issued a marked lanes violation by another State Police officer who was arraigned in the same courtroom earlier Wednesday on a perjury charge.
Lt. Jennifer Penton, who’s been charged with manslaughter in the death of trooper trainee Enrique Delgado-Garcia and perjury for lying to a grand jury that investigated it, responded to the scene of Quigley’s crash. She’s pleaded not guilty to all charges in the trooper trainee death case.
According to dash camera footage, she was urged by higher ups to avoid interviewing Quigley the night of the crash.
Outside the courthouse after Wednesday’s arraignment, Ronan spoke to reporters while standing next to Quigley, who remained quiet throughout.
“This was a tragic accident,” Ronan began. “But this accident was not a crime.”
She told reporters there is “a false narrative about a coverup” circulating.
“This narrative was put forth by three men who are accused of a horrific first-degree murder in Lowell,” she said, referencing the brothers Billy, Billoeum, and Channa Phan, who have been accused of gunning down 22-year-old Tyrone Phet outside his home in September 2020.
The allegations against Quigley — a lead investigator in the case — surfaced after defense attorneys in the Phan retrial raised questions about his involvement in the fatal crash.
Ronan claimed the false narrative is an attempt to shift blame to Quigley as a means to derail the prosecution of the Phan brothers.
“You can scream coverup louder and louder, but it doesn’t make it true,” Ronan said.
She said that for nearly two years, Quigley believed the accident only resulted in minor injuries for Schettino, and the first time he heard about the 37-year-old’s death was when he learned of the civil lawsuit.
Ronan added that the case hinges on “a single rapid blood test,” a test she said was given to Quigley while he was undergoing treatment for head trauma, broken bones, and internal bleeding due to the crash. She claimed the test was unreliable and never confirmed by medical personnel, none of whom detected a hint of intoxication in Quigley.
Ronan described Quigley as “a man who is above all,” saying he “cares deeply about his family, his wife, and his two young children,” and pointing to his 17 years on the force and his combat service in Afghanistan.
The State Police “respectfully” declined to comment about Quigley’s arraignment.
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