On Wednesday, May 30, a Suffolk Superior Court jury found Jose Daniel Arevalo, 35, guilty of motor vehicle homicide while under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision causing death in connection with the fatal 2016 crash that killed 25-year-old Marco Salguero-Cruz in Chelsea. He is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday morning.
The conviction stems from a hit-and-run incident on June 4, 2016, when Salguero-Cruz was struck by a silver Toyota Camry near Washington Street in Chelsea. The victim was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
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“Two years ago, the defendant made a choice that cost Marco Salguero-Cruz his life,” DA Dan Conley said. “Suffolk prosecutors, Chelsea detectives, and State troopers worked for untold hours on this case, first to identify the suspect, then to apprehend him, and finally to hold him accountable. He fled the scene. He fled the country. But he could not flee from justice in a Suffolk County courtroom.”
Assistant District Attorney Michael V. Glennon presented evidence at trial demonstrating that the vehicle fled the parking lot of a Washington Street bar at high speed on the night of the collision. Security camera footage from the area documented the vehicle’s trajectory as it left the bar and subsequently departed from the crash scene. Investigators noted that the vehicle had two functioning headlights before the collision but only one working headlight afterward.
Chelsea Police detectives and State troopers working with Conley’s office recovered surveillance images capturing the vehicle’s movements. Through the efforts of Conley’s Forensic Multimedia Lab and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Digital Evidence Lab, previously-deleted footage from a private security camera was successfully recovered and enhanced.
After images of the driver were released to the media and public by Conley’s office, Chelsea Police, and State Police, someone who knew Arevalo contacted investigators. Prosecutors noted that investigators independently confirmed Arevalo’s identity using witness statements, social media, and Registry of Motor Vehicles records.
Video evidence showed Arevalo consuming four beers and six shots over approximately 2.5 hours at the Washington Street bar prior to the crash, according to prosecutors.
Arevalo fled to El Salvador two days after the incident but eventually returned to the United States, where Texas Rangers apprehended him in Texas acting on a warrant issued by Chelsea and State police.