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Criminal Complaint Issued Against Driver in Brockton Pedestrian Fatal



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Contact:  Beth Stone- (508) 584-8120

BROCKTON – A criminal complaint has been issued against a driver who struck and killed
a pedestrian in Brockton, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced today.

After a show/cause hearing was held Monday, August 22 in Brockton District Court, a clerk
magistrate issued a criminal complaint today charging Valerie J. Semensi (DOB: 02/07/50) of
Cohasset, with one count of Motor Vehicle Homicide by Negligent Operation. Semensi will be
summonsed to court for arraignment. The complaint alleges that Semensi was behind the wheel of
her 2013 Mercedes SUV and negligent when she struck and killed 66-year-old John A. Buckley of
Bridgewater.

At approximately 8:01 in the morning on June 1, 2016, Brockton Police responded to a call
for a pedestrian struck on West Elm Street in Brockton. Upon arrival, police found a man, later
identified as Buckley, laying on the sidewalk on West Elm Street, suffering from serious injuries.
Buckley was transported to Brockton Hospital where he was pronounced dead of his injuries at 8:40
am.

Brockton Police contacted State Police Detectives assigned to the District Attorney’s Office
and an investigation commenced. Semensi, the driver of the Mercedes SUV that struck Buckley,
appears to have been backing her vehicle into a space in the courthouse parking lot. The State Police
investigation revealed that Semensi’s vehicle continued to accelerate in reverse and traveled over the
curb of the parking spot, over grass, through a curbed driveway, up a grassy hill, through bushes and
over a sidewalk, at which point the vehicle struck Buckley and knocked him to the ground. The SUV
continued across West Elm Street before finally coming to rest against a building. Semensi was
distraught at the accident scene and remained behind to speak with police before she was taken to
Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles suspended Semensi’s license after the
accident and it remains suspended.

The incident was investigated by State Police Detectives in the Plymouth County District
Attorney’s Office, Brockton Police, State Police C.A.R.S. unit and Crime Scene Services.

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August 25, 2016