Man charged with fatal Mass and Cass hit and run

A Roxbury man was arraigned last week on charges he hit a pedestrian at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard on Jan. 20, stopped, then drove away, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

According to the DA,s office, Michael Simpson, 73, was pushing a wheelchair across the intersection around 10:30 p.m. that day when Abner Jean-Baptiste, 36, hit him with his SUV. Boston Police found Simpson lying in the road near Hampden Street; he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jean-Baptist was formally charged with motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation and leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury or death. A Roxbury Municipal Court judge released him on person recognizance.

On Saturday, January 21, investigators located the vehicle, a 2004 Buick Rendezvous, in a parking lot adjacent to Jean-Baptiste’s Williams Street apartment. Investigators noted damage to the vehicle’s front passenger hood.

Innocent, etc.