Walid Chahine
May 27, 2007
Somerville, Massachusetts

The Boston Globe
(Boston, Massachusetts)
June 28, 2007

Man indicted in crash that killed cab driver, musician

June 28, 2007

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --A man who drove a sports utility vehicle 
into a cab during a police chase in Somerville last month was 
indicted Thursday on two counts of manslaughter and motor 
vehicle homicide.

Javier Morales, 29, led State Police on a chase that started in 
Everett in the early hours of May 27. He allegedly struck a taxi, 
killing Paul Farris, a 23-year-old musician and Minnesota native.

Cab driver Walid Chahine, 45, of Methuen, died at 
Massachusetts General Hospital days later.

Farris' girlfriend, Katelyn Hoyt, 21, also was in the cab. She 
remained in serious condition Thursday at Massachusetts 
General Hospital.

Morales, indicted in Middlesex Superior Court, faces more than 
20 years in prison. He's being held on $100,000 bail. Morales 
has pleaded not guilty.

"He had a number of opportunities available to stop at each turn, 
but he chose to increase the level of risk to people who were 
around the place of the crash," District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr. 
said.

Defense attorney Jason Thomas did not immediately return an 
after-hours call for comment.

Authorities are still investigating whether police followed proper 
pursuit policies for chases through densely populated areas.

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