Westfield Magistrate Lets Driver Walk in Hit-Run

Nathan A. Byrnes

Assistant Clerk-Magistrate
Westfield District Court, Westfield, Massachusetts
"There was no probable cause found to go a step further."
-- Meredith Nilan's attorney, Timothy J. Shugrue

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Reprinted from The Berkshire Eagle:

'No charges filed in December car, pedestrian accident'

By Andrew Amelinckx, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Wednesday January 18, 2012

PITTSFIELD -- No criminal charges will be filed against a 24-year-old driver in connection with a December accident that left a city man with severe injuries, according to the driver's lawyer.

Meredith Nilan's attorney, Timothy J. Shugrue, said a 2 1/2-hour "full evidentiary hearing" before Assistant Clerk Magistrate Nathan A. Byrnes from the Westfield District Court was held on Thursday.

"There was no probable cause found to go a step further," Shugrue said on Tuesday.

The Pittsfield Police filed applications for criminal complaints in district court against Meredith Nilan, the daughter of Clifford Nilan, who is the chief of probation at Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield.

Police planned on charging her with two misdemeanors: leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

According to police, Meredith Nilan, driving her father's 2001 Subaru Forester, swerved into the other lane and struck Peter Moore while he jogged with his dog on Winesap Road near East Street in Pittsfield on the evening of Dec. 8.

Meredith Nilan told police she was on her way to meet her boyfriend for dinner when she hit either a dog or a deer. She stopped, but didn't find anything she hit. She then returned home and went out with her father looking for evidence of what she may have hit, but couldn't find anything, according to her attorney. Clifford Nilan later called police to report the accident.

Moore, who left the scene after being hit and didn't seek medical attention until early the next morning, suffered a fractured calf bone and a broken vertebra, a bruised colon, trauma to the left side of his body, a concussion and abrasions "from head to toe."

"It was an accident," Shugrue said, adding that his client "feels bad someone was hurt."

Pittsfield Police Capt. John Mullin declined to comment on the case.

The hearing was held Thursday morning, but show-cause hearings are off-limits to the press and public.

The clerk who heard the case was not familiar with anyone involved, according to Shugrue.

Shugrue said it would be up to a district court judge whether to allow an appeal of not.

"Nothing has been filed as of this [Tuesday] afternoon to my knowledge," said Shugrue. "This should be the end of it." <<<<<

Nilan 'Hit-and-Run' Victim Peter Moore

(Photograph #1 - Click on image to enlarge.)

By G.M. Heller
Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012

PITTSFIELD -- A massive swelling the size of a half grapefruit is plainly evident on the cranium of 'hit-and-run' accident victim Peter Moore, shown here recovering in a Berkshire Medical Center hospital bed. An overhead fluorescent light clearly outlines the contours of Moore's severe head injury received when Moore, jogging the evening of December 8, 2011 along a well-lit section of Winesap Road in 'The Orchards' neighborhood of Pittsfield, was hit head-on and catapulted nearly face-first into the windshield of an SUV driven at a high rate of speed by Meredith Nilan, 24, a neighbor living just down the same street.

The impact left the SUV's windshield with a head-sized hole (seen close-up below), along with the vehicle's front-end damaged and dented. Moore himself sustained injuries that were extensive, including a concussion, fractured calf bone, a broken vertebra, a bruised colon, trauma to the left side of his body, and abrasions "from head to toe," according to the report filed by Pittsfield police. The 2001 Subaru Forester is registered to Ms. Nilan's father, Clifford J. Nilan, chief probation officer at Berkshire Superior Court Probation Department in Pittsfield.

(Photograph #2 - Click on image to enlarge.)

Peter Moore, shown here recovering at Berkshire Medical Center, was the victim of a hit-and-run driver the evening of December 8, 2011 while jogging with his dog along Winesap Road near his Pittsfield home. Here, registered nurse Amy Ruef scans Moore's medical bracelet used to track and dispense his medication.
Photo Credit: Ben Garver / Berkshire Eagle Staff

(Photograph #3 - Click on image to enlarge.)

A large round hole is evidence of the intensity of the impact made by Peter Moore's face and forehead into the center of the SUV's windshield.
Photo Credit: PLANET VALENTI

(Photograph #4 - Click on image to enlarge.)

Front-end damage, including missing grillework and severe hood indentations on a 2001 Subaru Forester registered to Clifford J. Nilan of Pittsfield, is evidence of the SUV's head-on collision with jogger Peter Moore. The accident vehicle is shown here photographed in The Nilan's driveway at 72 Winesap Road in Pittsfield. Nilan's daughter, Meredith, is fighting charges she was driving and struck Moore head-on, then drove off. Moore lives around the corner on McIntosh Drive.
(Compare the damaged Subaru Forester's hood and grillework to the photograph below of the same year model Subaru in mint condition.)
Photo Credit: PLANET VALENTI

(Photograph #5 - Click photo to enlarge.)

A 2001 Subaru Forester SUV for sale at Alibaba.com of approximately the same color and style as that of the SUV that struck Peter Moore head-on, then sped off.
Photo Credit: Alibaba.com

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Write to G.M. Heller at editor@berkshirerecord.com