BELCHERTOWN — A 48-year-old garbage truck driver was arraigned Thursday on a charge of negligent motor vehicle homicide in connection with the death of a man in Ware last July, according to the Northwestern district attorney’s office.
James Avila Jr. pleaded not guilty to the charge in Eastern Hampshire District Court and is due back in court April 13 for a pretrial hearing.
Avila, 48, of Gilbertville, a village of Hardwick, was driving a garbage truck on Church Street in Ware when he is alleged to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to leave the road and fatally strike Stephen F. Peters, 62, of Hardwick, who was working in a yard.
The crash was investigated by Ware Police, Massachusetts State Police (MSP) Detectives Unit assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, the MSP Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, MSP Crime Services and MSP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section.
Avila was released on his own recognizance on Thursday with the conditions that he not operate a motor vehicle, surrender his passport to the probation department and not leave the state without permission from the probation department, according to the district attorney’s office.