WARWICK – A jury on Friday convicted a 27-year-old woman of trying to hide her then-boyfriend from the police in the hours after he is alleged to have caused the hit-and-run crash that led to the death of popular East Greenwich athlete Olivia Passaretti.
Alicia Peckham was guilty of lying to state troopers at the crash scene and harboring Aramis Segura in the hours after the Mercedes Benz he was driving allegedly clipped the Nissan Altima with 17-year-old Passaretti behind the wheel, sending it into a tailspin early New Year’s Day 2022.
The impact caused the Nissan to head down an embankment off Interstate 95 south, hit a tree and flip. A witness estimated that Segura was allegedly driving over 100 mph.
A junior at East Greenwich High School, Passaretti was pronounced dead at the scene, which was just miles from her family’s home.
Peckham’s trial took place this week before Superior Court Judge Luis Matos.
Authorities allege hit-and-run driver hid under the bed
According to authorities, Segura fled the crash just north of the Route 117 overpass on foot and made it about eight miles to East Greenwich before he called Peckham on a borrowed cellphone.
He was found later that day hiding under a bed in their house on Old Post Road in Charlestown, after his girlfriend told investigators she hadn’t seen him in two weeks and lied about his car being at the crash scene, authorities alleged.
The jury on Friday convicted Peckham of leaving the scene of an accident, death resulting, as an aider and abettor; harboring a criminal; misprision of a felony; and obstructing an officer in execution of their duty.
She was represented by Frank L. Orabona and Pablo de la Huerta.
The case was prosecuted by John E. Corrigan.
What comes next
Segura, 32, of Charlestown, is charged with driving to endanger, death resulting and leaving the scene of an accident, death resulting. The state is seeking to have him sentenced as a habitual offender, meaning he could face up to 25 additional years behind bars.
He has been held since his arrest and is due in court for a pre-trial conference Aug. 23. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Woman convicted of hiding boyfriend after crash that killed Olivia Passaretti
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