Boston Area News

STOUGHTON (WBZ) ― The elderly woman who hit and killed a 4-year-old girl in Stoughton over the weekend is now facing charges.

Ilse Horn, 88, of Canton is accused of motor vehicle homicide and negligent operation in the Sunday crash that killed Diya Patel.

Diya was on a scooter, out for a walk with her grandfather and two siblings, when she was struck in a crosswalk on Washington Street. The car was driven by Horn.

Witnesses said the impact threw Diya 50 to 60 feet. Diya died of her injuries at Tufts Medical Center. "She always had passion. She always liked fashion. She always wanted to go to school," said Helly, who witnessed the accident.

Shortly after the accident, Horn had her license revoked by the Registry of Motor Vehicles, citing an "immediate threat."

The State Police collision analysis and reconstruction team was at the crash scene Sunday. What caused the elderly driver to hit the girl was unclear.

Despite their loss, one family member said they are not angry at the driver. They recognize she, too, may be suffering. After the accident, Horn was so distraught that she required hospital care.

Theresa Stanley of Stoughton brought her two daughters to the crash scene to pay their respects. "It's tearing our hearts," she said. "A beautiful little girl, a beautiful little girl. Our hearts go out to the family."

State Sen. Brian Joyce of Milton, whose district includes Stoughton, has been pushing for years for legislation that would require testing for elderly drivers seeking to renew their licenses. He hopes to get a hearing this week for a bill that would require drivers 85 and older to take road and vision tests. "We need to do something. We need to do something quickly as we have an aging population, the problem is only going to grow."

"The current law is just crazy," he said. "Here in Massachusetts, we take a drivers' test at age 16-and-a-half and then never again. The only requirement under current law is that a person pass a very simple vision test every 10 years. Essentially, if you can tell the difference between red and green at age 90 then you're good to go until you're 100, and that's crazy."

Read: Elderly Driving Laws - Survey Of Lawmakers

Joyce says he is running into opposition from AARP. "I think the AARP's opposition is somewhat misguided. You would think their greatest concern would be to protect their members," he said.

Dr. Beth Dugan, who is a part of an AARP coalition, wants the registry at the forefront of identifying problem drivers. "Sen. Joyce's bill is not the solution. DMV counter personnel recognized when someone is impaired and then refers that person to further assessment before they can proceed with their license renewal."

Referring to a recent series of high-profile accidents involving elderly drivers, culminating in the death of Diya Patel, Joyce said, "If this doesn't get us to act, I don't know what the hell will."

From 1982 to 2001, Horn was involved in five accidents, and in 1995, she received a speeding ticket.

RECENT CRASHES

In the last two weeks there have two other very serious accidents apparently caused by senior drivers.

In Plymouth, a 73-year-old woman crashed into a crowd that had gathered at the Vietnam Moving Wall. Seven people were injured, though none of the injuries were life threatening.

In Danvers, a one-year-old was critically injured when a car driven by a 93-year-old man crashed through the front of Wal-Mart.

The drivers in all three accidents had their licenses revoked by the Registry of Motor Vehicles, citing an 'immediate threat'.

According to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, there are currently 183,000 licensed drivers in the state 80-years and older.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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