Driver back in court for multiple manslaughter after accident in Somerset

FALL RIVER – Adam Gauthier, a former Somerset resident accused of drunkenly driving a 2023 Range Rover SUV the wrong way into the Veterans' Memorial on Christmas night, killing three members of a Seekonk family, was back in court Friday.

The accident killed 15-year-old Jacoby Arruda and his grandparents Floriano Arruda, 73, and Donna Arruda, 68.

Gauthier, 41, was indicted in March by a Bristol County Superior Court grand jury on three counts of manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Gauthier appeared in person with his defense attorney Kevin Reddington for the brief hearing in Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River.

As in a few court hearings since the tragic crash, about a dozen Arrudas' family members were present in the courtroom.

OUI fees:Police: Grandfather and grandson killed in head-on collision by drunk driver on Christmas

There is no trial date yet for Gauthier, who was released on $100,000 bail shortly after the accident.

Bristol County First Assistant District Attorney Karen O'Sullivan told the judge that most of the evidence had been presented to the defense.

But comments from Reddington and O'Sullivan during the hearing suggest the case is unlikely to go to a jury trial.

“So we talked to see if there was a possible solution,” Reddington said.

Fatal accident on Christmas night:Gauthier pleads not guilty to manslaughter under the influence of alcohol

Otherwise, he suggested that the judge schedule a hearing and set a date for the trial.

Judge Susan E. Sullivan has scheduled a hearing on the motion for October 28.

Joint funerals for the Arrudas

After the devastating accident on Christmas night, the injured Arruda family was taken to hospital.

Jacoby Arruda died that night at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River. His grandfather died the next day at Rhode Island Hospital; his grandmother succumbed to her injuries a few days later on December 29.

A joint funeral for family members took place on January 5 at St. John of God Church in Somerset.

“I wish we had more time”Family is devastated after Christmas accident with three dead

Gauthier suffered non-life-threatening injuries. He was initially taken from his hospital bed at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford the day after the accident and charged with the deaths of Jacoby and Floriano.

He was later transferred to the Bristol County House of Correction and released on $100,000 bail.

At his arraignment in Fall River District Court in the death of Donna Arruda, Gauthier appeared in court on crutches and wearing a medical boot.

Civil suit filed

The Arrudas' family filed a civil lawsuit in Bristol County Superior Court in March against Gauthier, his mother, Somerset resident Margaret Souza, and GoRealCar Inc., the company that rented the Range Rover that collided head-on with the victims' 2014 Infiniti QX50 SUV.

Driver back in court for multiple manslaughter after accident in Somerset

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Driver back in court for multiple manslaughter after accident in Somerset

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