The court has reduced bail for a man charged with manslaughter in connection with a fatal incident in Turner that left a grandmother dead.
The bond for Jacob Diaz of Augusta was reduced from $100,000 to $10,000 by the Androscoggin County Superior Court judge. He also imposed other conditions, including that Diaz live with his younger sister and follow a curfew of 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Diaz will be permitted to continue driving himself to work, see his attorney and court, and in the event of a medical emergency.
Diaz is charged with manslaughter, aggravated driving to endanger, two counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon (his pickup truck), and exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 mph.
According to investigators, he was racing another vehicle on Route 4 in Turner in December, driving more than 100 miles per hour. Prosecutors said in court on Monday that Diaz was travelling at 107 kilometres per hour when he collided with Carol Ivers' car.
According to police, Diaz crashed into Ivers' car as she pulled onto Route 4 from Upper Road.
Prosecutors claim Ivers' automobile spun 221 feet, her engine was ripped off her car and travelled 183 feet past where her car came to rest, and a tyre from her car ended up approximately 500 feet away.
Ivers died on the spot while on her way to bring Christmas gifts to her grandchild in Brunswick. Curtis R. Fogg, 34, of Windham, was arrested earlier this month in South Portland on various charges, including manslaughter, in connection with the crash. According to police, he was racing Diaz.
