Stoughton Drunk Driver Sent to Jail After Killing Stoughton Woman

The unlicensed illegal immigrant drunk driver from Stoughton who crossed the center line of Rte. 138 in Canton on June 24, 2012, , was sent to jail Wednesday, according to a press release from the office of Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey.

Auricelli Braga, 32, from Stoughton, pled guilty in Norfolk Superior Court to both charges against her: Motor Vehicle Homicide by Negligent Operation while Operating Under the Influence and Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, according to the DA's office.

“The judge imposed 2.5 years in the house of correction with two years incarcerated and the balance suspended during 5 years of supervised probation," Morrissey said in the release. "Terms of probation include abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and a she must pay a $1,000 fine for the unlicensed operation."

The DA's office asked for a 3-5 year sentence. Meanwhile, defense attorney Ron Rice had asked Judge Kenneth Fishman to impose a 1-year sentence, according to the release. 

Nine members of the Escudero family were present for the plea in Norfolk Superior court on Wednesday, January 09, 2013, and four gave victim impact statements, the release states.

“The defendant is also the subject of an ICE detainer, and will face deportation proceedings after she finishes her incarceration,” Morrissey added.

Braga, originally from Brazil, is not a legal resident, the Boston Herald reported back in June. Braga legally entered the U.S. in November 2001 with permission to remain in this country until May 2002. However, Braga never left the country and has been here the last 10+ years, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official told the Herald.

According to the District Attorney's office: "The fatal collision occurred at about 5:35 a.m. [on June 24, 2012] in the area of 239 Turnpike Street in Canton, when the black Nissan Sentra that Braga was driving home after a night of partying at the Splash night club in Boston and visiting a friend in Framingham. Her blood alcohol level an hour after the crash was measured at .12 % - one and a half times the per se legal limit of .08, according to prosecutors.

"A witness who spoke to reporters after the crash said that he had needed to swerve his own car out of Braga’s path moments before she struck and killed Sara Escudero. Canton police conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section," the DA's office continued.

Escudero was on her way to work at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Roslindale at the time of the crash. She was the wife for 43 years of Jorge Vidal, the mother of four daughters and the grandmother of two.

“This was an absolutely senseless loss of life,” said District Attorney Morrissey, who met with the family prior to the Wednesday hearing in Superior Court. “The impact on this family and the loss they feel is difficult to put into words. It is clear that Sara was deeply loved, and is now deeply missed.”

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Information from a press release from the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office used in this report.