Negligent homicide case from 2016 Milford fatal crash appears headed for trial
NASHUA – Although it’s still possible that a negligent homicide case stemming from a 2016 fatal Milford crash will be settled ahead of next month’s scheduled trial, court documents indicate the deadline to reach an agreement passed nearly two months ago.
The defendant, Roberta O’Dell, 54, of 190 Richmond Road in Winchester, faces one felony count of negligent homicide. She is accused of “driving recklessly on Route 101 in Milford” at “unreasonable speeds …,” allegedly causing the crash that claimed the life of 69-year-old Gilford resident Susan Robbs.
Robbs was a passenger in a 2007 Kia Spectra driven by her husband, Thomas Robbs, then 74, who was injured and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
A Hillsborough County grand jury indicted O’Dell in January, as its members found enough evidence for prosecutors to take the case to Superior Court.
O’Dell was driving a 2011 Nissan Rogue east on Route 101 on May 3, 2016, when, according to the indictment, she began “passing cars in no-passing zones at unreasonable speeds … failing to leave sufficient room to pass a tractor-trailer,” which resulted in her vehicle “colliding into an oncoming car … causing the death” of Susan Robb.
The impact of the crash, which occurred on the Route 13 overpass of Route 101, caused O’Dell’s vehicle to come to rest atop the guard rail at the edge of the overpass.
Firefighters and other first responders took measures to stabilize the vehicle to allow medical personnel to tend to O’Dell, who sustained serious injuries and was flown to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon for treatment.
The most recent entry in O’Dell’s case file, aside from Judge Charles Temple’s August order on the agreement deadline, is a mid-July notation that prosecutors were in the process of contacting members of Robb’s family to review a proposed agreement with them.
If the case does go to trial, a trial management conference will take place on Nov. 2. Jury selection is scheduled for Nov. 13, with testimony to follow. The court has set aside three days for the trial.
Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-1256, or, dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_DeanS.
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