Providence Man Charged in Fatal Hit-and-Run that Killed Massachusetts Pedestrian

A 19-year-old man from Providence, Rhode Island, was booked on Thursday in the deadly hit-and-run case that claimed the life of a Massachusetts man earlier this month. Michael Laboy is accused of fleeing the scene after fatally striking 57-year-old Paul DeMoura in Dighton, Massachusetts on Route 44.

Laboy was apprehended at his workplace in Taunton, as reported by the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. The charge laid against him is leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death, a devastating event that took place on the night of April 4. According to Boston.com, the arrest followed a 911 call from an off-duty Taunton police officer who discovered DeMoura's body on the roadside and recognized it as a human form.

The case has attracted significant attention, particularly because the victim, Paul DeMoura was following his regular routine, walking to grab a soda and a candy bar for his mother. "He just was walking to the store last night, as he normally did, to get some soda and bring me home a candy bar," DeMoura's mother Donna told WCVB. DeMoura, a father of three and a beloved member of the community, was in Massachusetts visiting for five weeks when his life was tragically cut short.

Massachusetts State Police, working jointly with Dighton Police, made the arrest. Laboy's expected arraignment was to be held Thursday afternoon at Taunton District Court, as reported by NBC Boston. The precise details of how authorities connected Laboy to the hit-and-run have not been released by the district attorney’s office.