Kevin Quinn
BARNSTABLE – The widow of Mashpee man killed last year in a head on crash by a man fleeing from police has filed a $1.6 million civil lawsuit against that man’s estate.
Kara Quinn, the wife of the late 32-year-old Kevin Quinn, of Mashpee, filed the suit on March 5 in Barnstable Superior Court.
The suit seeks $1.6 million in compensation from the estate of the man who caused the crash, 22-year-old Mickey Rivera, of Fall River, for his “grossly negligent” actions that lead to Quinn’s death.
On July 28, Rivera’s car was being pursued at a high rate of speed by two Mashpee Police cruisers. Rivera led the chase through the Mashpee rotary and eastbound on Route 28, when his 2000 Toyota sedan crashed head on into Quinn’s 2012 GMC SUV that was heading westbound.
Quinn was pinned inside of his vehicle as a result of the collision and had to be extricated by first responders with the jaws of life. He was transported to South Shore Hospital where he later died.
The high speed crash had also killed Rivera and his 24-year-old female passenger, Jocelyn Goyette, of New Bedford. The collision caused Rivera’s car to split in two, ejecting both Rivera and Goyette. Rivera was immediately pronounced dead while Goyette was rushed to Cape Cod Hospital in critical condition. Goyette was then transferred to a Boston hospital, where she died two days later.
According to law enforcement officials, Rivera was out on a reduced bail of $1,000 from $35,000 in connection with a Fall River murder case from 2015. He had spent several months in jail before he was released on the lower bail.
The lawsuit, written by Kara Quinn’s attorney, James Sullivan, claims Rivera is legally responsible for Quinn’s death, stating that Rivera drove “so negligently, carelessly and recklessly as to cause it to collide,” with Quinn’s vehicle.
It goes on to state that “as a direct and proximate result of the Defendant Rivera, Kevin P. Quinn, suffered severe injuries, which resulted in his experiencing conscious pain and suffering, in his incurring medical expenses for medical care and treatment, in his death, and expenses for his funeral services.”
Kevin Quinn was a Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan. At the time of the crash, he was returning home from visiting his wife Kara and their newborn baby daughter at the maternity department of Cape Cod Hospital. Quinn was expected to return to the hospital later that morning to bring them both home to begin their new life.
Worcester Attorney Mark Darling has been selected to represent Mickey Rivera’s Estate.
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
