BELCHERTOWN — A local teen who prosecutors allege is responsible for the car crash that killed Amherst resident Larry Kelley pleaded not guilty in court Aug. 16 to a charge of negligent motor vehicle homicide.
Ryan Fellion, 18, appeared in Eastern Hampshire District Court to face the charge six months after the deadly crash. Family and friends of both men were in the courtroom for the brief arraignment.
Fellion was allegedly behind the wheel of the vehicle that killed Kelley, 62, on Feb. 17. The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum 2½-year jail sentence and a 15-year loss of license.
He was released on conditions that he not drive a motor vehicle, surrender his passport and not leave the state. Fellion’s attorney, David C. Kuzmeski, and Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Andrew Covington agreed to the conditions.
Police allege Fellion was driving west on Route 9 when his vehicle crossed over the center line and struck Kelley’s eastbound car nearly head-on near 299 Federal St., according to the Northwestern district attorney’s office.
Kelley, a well-known blogger who was active in Amherst town politics, was pronounced dead at the scene. Fellion and two passengers in his vehicle suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. They were taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment, according to the district attorney’s office.
As part of their investigation, police interviewed a friend of one of the passengers who wrote to his mother in a text message that every time he has driven with Fellion, the 18-year-old was texting and driving as well as speeding.
“We always told him he was gonna kill someone that’s why we all stopped driving with him cause he was much too dangerous,” the friend wrote in a text, according to court documents.
Following that interview, police gained an administrative subpoena to get records of Fellion’s cellphone use around the time of the crash. Court documents show a dozen times at which Fellion’s phone was active between 2:34 and 2:44 p.m. on the day of the crash. The first call to police about the crash was at 2:43 p.m.
“… Ryan Fellion’s cellphone was actively accessing data and was being used while operating his motor vehicle,” according to a police report filed with the court.
Covington is expected to file a motion to compel Fellion to provide the password for his cell phone. Police seized the phone following the crash.
Fellion is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 27 for a pre-trial hearing at which Covington’s motion is expected to be heard.
Kelley was best known in Amherst for his blog, Only in the Republic of Amherst, where he kept close watch over town politics and breaking news events — and shared his own strong opinions. He was a member of Town Meeting and owned a karate studio in South Amherst for 28 years. He was a columnist at the Amherst Bulletin for 14 years, and once beat Tae Bo creator Billy Blanks in a martial arts fight.
Belchertown Police, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Northwestern district attorney’s office, MSP Crime Scene Services and MSP Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section investigated the collision.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.