Candice Asare-Yeboah (obituary), Christopher Remillard appears in court in June 2022. (WBZ/screengrab)
The Auburn, Massachusetts, man who said he was reaching into his pocket for $20 when the SUV he was driving fatally struck a 5-year-old girl crossing the street with her mother now faces a manslaughter indictment.
Christopher Remillard, now 58, was indicted last Friday, May 12, by a Worcester County Grand Jury for involuntary manslaughter, negligent driving, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and motor vehicle homicide by negligence in the death of Candice Asare-Yeboah, the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Remillard was driving in Worcester on April 18, 2022, Easter Monday, when Candice and her mother, Asha Nyarko-Asare, were crossing Stafford Street. Family revealed that the deadly crash occurred as Candice and her mother were on a “routine trip for hair accessories to give her 5yr old the hairstyle she had longed for.”
“Worcester police were called to the area of 91 Stafford St. around 9:35 a.m. on April 18, 2022, for a report of a pedestrian crash. Worcester firefighters were treating Candice when police arrived on scene,” prosecutors said. “The young girl and her mother had been struck by a vehicle while they attempted to cross Stafford Street. The mother and daughter were taken to an area hospital.”
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The crash left the “eloquent and vibrant” 5-year-old girl in a coma. Candice died on May 23, 2022, more than a month later, devastating her family.
“Our baby Candice gained her angel wings a few hours ago and we are devastated as a family. She fought so hard to live but her injuries made it impossible for her beautiful life to continue. We have several unanswered questions and don’t even know who to ask. The pain is unbearable. But we take consolation in the memories we have of her short life with us and her blessing to others,” the girl’s aunt announced on GoFundMe last year.
Prosecutors did not say when Remillard will be arraigned.
When the driver was initially charged in the case last year, his defense lawyer Robert Iacovelli said his client was “remorseful” and “very distraught that the little girl passed away.”
Remillard had claimed that he was reaching into his pocket for a $20 bill before fatally striking Candice with the SUV.
“I reached in my pocket and pulled out a $20 bill to get gas unfolding my bill. I heard a large thump slammed on my brakes immediately,” he allegedly told cops.
The driver, who had a reported history of motor vehicle violations, including a charge for driving on a suspended license, was allegedly traveling 47 mph in a 35 mph zone.
An obituary for the 5-year-old said Candice will “always be remembered as a clever, cheerful and energetic little girl who loved the outdoors and the color pink.”
“She loved taking charge and bossing her brother Daryl around,” the girl’s family said. “She will forever be remembered for her maturity, sense of humour and her kindness. Her memory will never fade in our minds and in our hearts, we will always hold her dear.”
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