Politics & Government

No Charges in Norfolk DA Morrissey's Accident

By Joseph Markman
A clerk magistrate at Quincy District Court Monday declined to file criminal charges against Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey for his involvement in an accident in Milton last month.

Morrissey was found responsible for a marked lanes violation, according to the Boston Globe. He presented evidence that he fainted just before the accident, and that he was not impaired, distracted or speeding.


Morrissey, 58, was driving a 2011 Ford Explorer on July 16 shortly before 6 p.m. He crossed the double yellow line on Centre Street, side swiping another SUV, causing it to roll over, and then colliding nearly head-on with a Ford F-150. A fourth vehicle landed on a stone wall to avoid collision.

In an email sent to Milton Patch containing phone and medical records (from Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Milton) and a Massachusetts State Police accident report submitted in court Monday, Morrissey said that he suffered a "vaso vagal episode," commonly known as fainting.

"Shortly after leaving work at 5:30 p.m., I made a series of telephone calls to friends and family to see if they were available to join me for dinner," Morrissey said. "Unsuccessful in making plans for dinner, I called a local pizza shop in Quincy and ordered a pizza to pick up.  

"The call to the pizza shop was the last call I made before the accident and it lasted 28 seconds. All of the calls I made after leaving work at approximately 5:30 p.m. were to individuals who are stored in my cell phone directory and the calls were made on my hands free wireless system."

The Worcester District Attorney's Office was brought in to work with the Milton Police on the case.


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