‘Shocking disregard’: Mom of teen girl killed in wrong-way, head-on crash suing North Shore town

SAUGUS, Mass. — The mother of a teenage girl who was killed when a wrong-way driver crashed head-on into her vehicle during a high-speed chase in June 2021 is suing the Town of Saugus, alleging that the “negligent” and “shocking” actions of two police officers involved in the pursuit caused the deadly wreck.

Michelle Luongo, of Lynn, filed the lawsuit on behalf of her late daughter, 19-year-old Ashley Forward, in Middlesex Superior Court on Monday and the Town of Saugus, robbery suspect William Leger, Saugus Sgt. Michael Richards and Saugus Officer Sean Murphy are named as defendants.

Prosecutors allege that after robbing a 7-Eleven on Lincoln Avenue in Saugus, Leger, of Everett, fled and drove a stolen vehicle at a high rate of speed the wrong way on Route 107 in Saugus and crashed head-on into Forward’s vehicle, killing her on June 9, 2021.

Leger was ordered held without bail after he appeared in Lynn District Court via video from his hospital bed at Massachusetts General Hospital.

19-year-old killed in head-on crash after a robbery suspect leads police on chase 19-year-old killed in head-on crash after a robbery suspect leads police on chase

Luongo believes her daughter would still be here today if hadn’t been for the police chase.

“By provoking him on and on and chasing him there was no need for that,” Luongo said. “It’s not all about my daughter it’s about doing what’s right for everybody.”

Forward’s family members said after her death that she was on her way from her boyfriend’s house to get her uniform to start her shift at Target when she was hit and killed, just three miles from her front door.

After the robbery, Sgt. Richards and Officer Murphy spotted Leger’s stolen silver Volkswagen and gave chase on Lincoln Street and then onto Ballard Street at “increasingly high speed,” the lawsuit stated. That’s when Leger turned onto the wrong side of Route 107 in an alleged attempt to evade capture, ultimately barreling into Forward’s vehicle.

“Murphy and Richards engaged in a dangerous high-speed chase going the wrong way on Route 107, while exceeding 80 mph, through a densely populated area onto a heavily congested roadway,” the lawsuit alleges. “The continued pursuit of a suspect who had committed a nonviolent felony only exacerbated and intensified the extreme danger of the situation to the public and specifically to Ms. Forward, beyond reasonable law enforcement activity.”

The lawsuit continues, “Richards and Murphy’s unreasonable and extremely dangerous pursuit of Leger materially contributed to and was the cause of the motor vehicle collision which caused Ms. Forward’s death.”

Richards and Murphy showed “negligence” in their decision-making during the chase and “extreme, arbitrary, and conscious-shocking disregard for the safety of drivers,” the lawsuit further alleges.

The lawsuit also claims that Richards and Murphy could have called off the chase, arguing Leger was “well-known” to police in the area and that he could been arrested without engaging in a chase.

“The Town of Saugus, through Saugus Police Department, failed to properly train, supervise, and discipline its officers with respect to the proper execution of the department’s policies and procedures with respect to the high-speed pursuit,” the lawsuit states.

Leger is charged with motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, unarmed robbery, receiving a stolen vehicle, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, marked lanes violation, speeding, and driving the wrong way on a state highway.

When contacted for comment, a Saugus police spokesperson told Boston 25, “Our hearts go out to the victim and her family however we cannot comment on any pending litigation.”

The Rose Law Boston lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.

Read the full lawsuit:

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