2 die in Andover car crash, woman pleads not guilty

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- A tragic trip in Andover ended with two friends killed in a car accident. On Monday, the woman accused of causing the wreck appeared in court and was charged with driving drunk.

The fatal accident happened on I-93 North in Andover around 7 a.m. on Saturday.

“This defendant put her hands to her face and cried ‘Oh God, I killed them all,’” said the prosecutor.

Shayna Fernandez, 21, of Lawrence was charged with motor vehicle homicide while driving drunk. Police said her Acura RXS struck a Chevrolet Blazer that was pulling a boat on a trailer.

Police said the Blazer rolled, killing the 62-year-old driver, Francis O’Hanley, Jr. of Saugus and his passenger, 57-year-old Joseph Coppola of Malden. The friends were on their way to their weekly fishing trip.

O’Hanley’s 25-year-old son, Timothy O’Hanley, was also in the vehicle. He was not seriously injured.

“The trooper asked him what happened and he replied, ‘I don’t know. All I remember we were driving and something hit is.’ He then said, ‘Is my dad going to be okay? Please tell me he’s going to be okay. He doesn’t look right. He’s all white,’” said the prosecutor.

Fernandez told police she was driving her car 65 to 75 miles per hour, but police said other witnesses saw the accident and estimate she was going much faster, roughly 90 miles per hour.

“This accident was not her fault,” said Stephen Wright, the defense attorney. “The vehicle was in the center lane and it changed lanes. She may have been in the blind spot of the vehicle.”

The victims’ family members in court were succumbed with anguish. The suspect’s tearful aunt expressed her own remorse.

“Sorry to the family. That’s it,” tearfully said Sherry Santiago, the suspect’s aunt. “Sorry.”

Fernandez pleaded not guilty and is being held on $50,000 cash bail.

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