A 41-year-old Cambridge social worker pleaded not guilty Monday to vehicular homicide, drunken driving, and assault with a dangerous weapon after police say she drove the wrong way down Market Street and slammed into another driver's car, killing a longtime Cambridge resident. Sosa Samura now faces a detention hearing later this month as she awaits trial on charges that could send her to state prison for years.
The crash happened shortly after 11:30 p.m. near Market and Columbia streets in Cambridge's Port neighborhood, according to The Boston Globe. Emergency responders shut down the intersection that night after the multi-vehicle collision sent several people to area hospitals, as Cambridge Day reported at the time. Cambridge police say Samura, driving a Honda CR-V, struck Susana Castillo's Subaru while traveling the wrong way on Market Street, pushing Castillo's car into a tree and causing major damage to its driver's side.
Castillo, a Cambridge resident for most of her life, died in the crash. Police say her injuries included internal decapitation, a broken left leg and arm, fractures of both hips, and two tears to the aorta, findings attributed to an autopsy cited in the police report. She had been heading home to her Essex Street residence to care for her mother, who is in her 90s, according to an account from a relative.
A Family Remembers a Quiet, Devoted Daughter
Castillo's brother-in-law, Lionel Charles, described her as bashful, very quiet, but friendly. She worked as a caretaker for her elderly mother and had previously run a cosmetics business offering hair and eyelash care. One of seven siblings, Castillo had talked about moving abroad, possibly to Honduras, where her family owns a home. Charles said she wanted to leave and was tired of being there. He learned of the crash from a phone call at 2 a.m. the following morning.
Cambridge police identified Samura as a social worker and said her reckless operation resulted in another person's death.
According to the Globe's reporting, Samura sped away from another crash.
A 2020 OUI Case Resurfaces
Samura was previously charged with drunken driving after a 2020 incident in Stoneham, a case that was continued without a finding the following year. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90, Section 24, that resolution still counts as a prior offense under the state's lifetime lookback rule when charging new OUI violations, according to the Davis Law Group.
A second-offense OUI case may involve a two-year license suspension and two years of required ignition interlock device use upon reinstatement; a 14-day inpatient hospitalization may be an alternative sentence to avoid minimum jail time. The vehicular homicide charge also carries serious potential consequences.
Police documents identify Samura as a social worker.
Cambridge's Broader Reckoning With Traffic Deaths
The crash lands as Cambridge grapples with its record on roadway safety. Cambridge recorded seven traffic fatalities over the preceding four years, compared with zero in neighboring Somerville over the same period, according to Cambridge Day. In September, the city's Department of Transportation launched a formal Intersection Safety Program that will evaluate and rank the city's Higher Crash Locations every two years for physical safety upgrades, the City of Cambridge announced.
The city's Vision Zero initiative focuses on roadway safety. Crash datasets are among the sources used to rank intersections.
Samura remains held pending her detention hearing later this month. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
