NORTHAMPTON — The Cape Cod woman accused of hitting and killing a University of Massachusetts Amherst student with her car two years ago may plead guilty just short of the case going to trial, prosecutors said.
Hannah Frilot, a 20-year-old engineering student about to begin her senior year, was walking her bicycle in the bike lane on North East Street in Amherst around 11 p.m. on July 31, 2014, when Cynthia S. May, 64, of Orleans, allegedly struck her from behind in a Toyota Rav4. Frilot was thrown about 50 feet, and paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene, according to court records.
May has pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to reckless vehicular homicide. May’s attorney, Harry Miles, and First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven Gagne appeared in court Wednesday to inform Judge Richard Carey that a possible change in plea was under discussion.
“We’re in the process of talking about a plea,” Gagne said after the court appearance. “It looks more likely than not.”
But if the plea falls through or if May does not want to accept, the trial may begin this week or early next week.
If a guilty plea does not enter the picture, Miles said May will opt for a trial-by-judge. May is expected to appear in court at 9 a.m. Thursday, where a judge will instruct her on the rights she is surrendering in waiving a jury trial.
In June of last year, Frilot’s parents, Michael Frilot Jr. and Michelle Frilot of Scottsdale, Arizona, also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against May which is still pending. The civil suit alleges May violated traffic laws when she struck their daughter. The Frilots are looking to be awarded an undisclosed sum that would cover court costs, the loss of their daughter’s potential future earnings and punitive damages.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.