Father of man who died two years after being beaten in the head with a rock at JFK/UMass sues MBTA for failing to protect him

Zachary Dimona-Viveiros died Dec. 12 from injuries he suffered when another man on an inbound Red Line train sitting at JFK/UMass suddenly decided to bash him in the head with a fist-sized piece of quartz around 8:50 p.m. on March, 4, 2022 - after the MBTA ignored complaints from other riders about the man's erratic behavior, his father says in a wrongful-death suit against the MBTA.

In a suit filed Friday in Suffolk Superior Court, Gorrett Viveiros charges the MBTA was grossly negligent for not responding to those complaint in time:

The assailant was behaving erratically and violently on MBTA property for a sustained period of time prior to the assault and, upon information and belief, multiple passengers complained to the MBTA and or sought assistance from the MBTA. Those efforts were ignored.

The man charged with attacking Dimona-Viveiros, David Dimarco Washington-Halfkenny of Dorchester, 43, has yet to come to trial, because he remains held at Bridgewater State Hospital.

Following an evaluation after his arraignment, a Quincy District Court judge determined he was not competent to stand trial on the charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a dangerous weapon and armed robbery, according to court records, which show that judges have upheld that determination several times since. He is next scheduled for a competency hearing in court on March 20, according to court records.

Dimona-Viveiros, who was disabled, was on the way from Wollaston into Boston to meet his girlfriend, with whom he was talking on the phone when Washington-Halfkenny stopped pacing around the train car and began smashing the quartz into his face, as she could only listen helplessly, WHDH reported at the time.

When officers arrived, they found Washington-Halfkenny shouting as he stood over Dimona-Viveiros, from whose head blood gushed, police said.

Viveiros charges:

The MBTA's utter lack of security, lack of response to complaints, lack of systems and procedures in order to protect disabled passengers from harm, and the lack of training and supervision of staff was so derelict that it can only be described as wilful, wanton and or reckless.

The MBTA has until June 30 to respond to the suit.