BOSTON — A man charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood that left a 4-year-old boy dead earlier this month will face a judge Tuesday, a day after he surrendered to police.
Olguens Joseph, 30, turned himself in to the police Monday afternoon after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Joseph is slated to be arraigned in Roxbury District Court on charges including motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of personal injury and death, and operation of an unregistered/uninsured motor vehicle, according to the Boston Police Department.
Joseph was wanted in the fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred in the area of 165 Wood Ave. on July 18. Police said the young victim was struck at about 9:30 p.m. by a dark gray 2016-2022 Chevrolet Spark. The vehicle was last seen driving in the direction of Cummins Highway, according to police.
Video of the suspect vehicle shared by Boston police shows the vehicle traveling through the intersection of Wood and Safford avenues shortly before the collision happened.
This browser does not support the video element.
According to new court documents, Joseph was driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle with his 3-year-old son in the front seat during the deadly crash.
Joseph allegedly traded the suspected vehicle for an Acura RDX days after the crash, according to the court documents.
The boy, who was identified by his family as Ivan Pierre, was found suffering from life-threatening injuries at the scene. An off-duty Boston firefighter was in the area of the crash and rendered first aid to the victim until first responders arrived.
The boy was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Pierre’s uncle called his nephew the “life of the house.”
A family member says the four-year-old slipped out of the house, unnoticed. “My sister got a new car,” said the child’s uncle, Heroldy Limage. “She had just gotten home and everyone was rushing out to see her new car.’
Limage said that as the adults gathered by the doorway, Ivan snuck out to see the owner of that new car — his mother.
A witness said that Pierre and his mother were walking across the street when a speeding car approached them, struck the boy, and continued on without stopping.
“Next thing, there was an impact that everyone heard outside, and it was him lying there in the street,” Limage said. “Imagine a grown-up getting hit by a car. Now put a four-year-old kid in that position.”
Rakeem Kelley said he was in his parked car when he witnessed the crash.
“I just heard this loud bang. It sounded like a car accident — two cars hitting each other,” Kelley said. “And I like jumped and when I looked up that’s when I saw the baby getting run over.”
Moments after the child was hit, Kelley, the father of two young boys, jumped out of his car to help.
“I ran over to him, trying to ask him if he’s alright,” Kelley said. “Telling him to stay with us. And I could see the baby’s not going to make it.”
The incident happened in a neighborhood of tight, cramped streets in which speeding is discouraged — there are signs everywhere indicating a 25 MPH limit — but, residents say, is a constant problem.
The Boston Police Department is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident.
This browser does not support the video element.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW