News

Actions

Man with MS faces trial over pizza shop crash

Posted

NEWTON, MA (WCVB/CNN) - The driver who crashed into a Massachusetts pizza shop last year appeared in court Monday, and his legal team is arguing he shouldn’t go to jail.

A year and a half ago, Brad Casler suffered a flare-up of his multiple sclerosis, and crashed his car into Sweet Tomatoes, killing two people and injuring several others.

Relatives of Greg Morin and Eleanor Miele, who died in the crash, simply want this process to end.

"If he's not going to take it to trial then he needs to plead guilty and he needs to let us move on with this portion of our lives," said Morin’s widow, Erica.

In the midst of the holiday season, the victims' families are more frustrated than ever after yet another court hearing.

"Greg's dead and at the end of the day he'll be dead tomorrow, and there's nothing that this process will change. But we should not have to be here every month going through this," Erica Morin said.

Defense attorney Tom Giblin says his client could not plead guilty without knowing that the sentence might be.

The prosecutor recommends a jail sentence, but the defense argues home confinement is the best option because of the crime and Casler’s medical condition. Casler also said he will never drive again.

The decision now goes to the judge, and the victims' families are quickly running out of patience.

"This has gone on long enough. The families have suffered enough, and it needs to be resolved so we can move on," another victim’s relative said.

Once the judge delivers a decision on what the court would do from a sentencing perspective, Casler's legal team has until mid-December to decide if their client will change his plea.

Copyright 2017 WCVB via CNN. All rights reserved.