Story highlights
Driver who allegedly hit two pedestrians pleads not guilty at arraignment
A woman and a second pedestrian were struck
The lifeless body of the woman in her 50s was recovered 3.2 miles up the road
The other victim was left at the scene of the crash with minor injuries
The man accused of hitting a woman with his vehicle and dragging her for more than three miles near Foxborough, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty to several charges at his arraignment Tuesday.
The woman, Kanchanben Patel, 58, was killed, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said.
Moses Acloque, 22, allegedly ran into her and another pedestrian in the town of Wrentham around 10 p.m., the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
At arraignment, prosecutors said Acloque was confronted by management of a hotel after allegedly using a room illegally. Acloque tried to get away in his truck and allegedly struck a parked car before causing the collisions that resulted in the injury and death.
Acloque allegedly drove several miles before pulling over in the rear of a restaurant near a shopping complex near Gillette Stadium, where he backed up his truck – dislodging the woman’s body – and then sped away.
“At that point, he knew” there was a woman’s body under his truck, said David Traub, communications director for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.
A driver who had been following Acloque notified Massachusetts state police officers, who made the arrest farther down the highway.
Acloque pleaded not guilty to charges of leaving the scene of a collision causing death, motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, leaving the scene of property damage and driving with a suspended license. He was ordered held on $3,000 bail with home confinement and GPS monitoring. His lawyer did not respond to CNN requests for comment Tuesday.
The collision triggered 911 calls from witnesses.
The crash left the other victim with minor injuries at the site of the collision, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey told CNN affiliate WCVB, but Patel’s body was found 3.2 miles up the road in the town of Foxborough.
Morrissey said it’s believed Acloque was driving a pickup and might have had passengers on board.
Investigators are searching the road for pieces of the woman’s clothing and other evidence.