DA says woman was ‘co-conspirator’ in fatal Maine car crash

A 21-year-old North Falmouth woman injured in a high-speed, fiery car crash that killed four of her Maine Maritime Academy classmates near campus in December was called a “co-conspirator” of the vehicle’s driver by the local district attorney.

Noelle Tavares pleaded not guilty Thursday morning in Hancock County Unified Criminal Court to about a dozen charges in the case, including manslaughter and drunk driving, Hancock County District Attorney Robert Granger told the Globe Saturday.

Tavares posted $5,000 cash bail and was released under numerous bail conditions, according to Granger.

Tavares was one of seven academy students traveling in a 2013 Range Rover along Route 166 in Castine, near the academy’s campus, at about 2 a.m. on Dec. 10, authorities have said.

Fellow student Joshua Goncalves-Radding, 20, was driving the vehicle when he lost control, skidded into the shoulder, went airborne, and slammed into a tree, Granger said in a statement.

The tree entered the Range Rover, the engine and transmission were severed, and the vehicle burst into flames, Granger said.

The car was traveling between 106 and 111 miles per hour at the time of the crash, according to Granger. The speed limit on that section of road was 35 miles per hour, he said.

Alcohol and speed were significant factors in the crash, Granger said in a statement.

The crash killed Luke Rockwell Simpson, 22, of Rockport, and Riley Ignacio-Cameron, 20, of Aquinnah, along with Maine residents Brian Kenealy, 20, of York, and Chase Fossett, 21, of Gardiner, authorities said at the time.

They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Goncalves-Radding pleaded not guilty in May to a 17-charge indictment, which included manslaughter charges, according to court papers available online.

Earlier this month, Tavares was indicted on 13 charges in the case, including manslaughter, drunk driving, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, and criminal speeding, according to records released by the State of Maine’s Judicial Branch.

Even though Tavares wasn’t the driver, Granger said in a statement that the charges against her are based on “accomplice liability.”

The charges “are predicated on Noelle Tavares being an accomplice or co-conspirator” to those against Goncalves-Radding, Granger said.

“The eight-month investigation uncovered additional evidence which the Grand Jury determined gave rise to probable cause to believe that Noelle Tavares aided in the unlawful conduct which directly contributed to the tragic crash and the deaths of the four young men,” Granger said in the statement.

Under Maine law, someone can be charged with a crime if they solicit another person “to commit the crime, or aids or agrees to aid or attempts to aid such other person in planning or committing the crime,” according to the text of the law.

Granger declined to comment on the basis of the charges against Tavares.