What did Noelle Tavares do? Survivor of the Maine Maritime Academy students crash charged in connection to the tragedy

Noelle Tavares, a 21-year-old student from North Falmouth, Massachusetts, has been accused of being an accomplice or co-conspirator in connection to a car crash that claimed the lives of four of her peers. The incident occurred on December 10, 2022, on Rute 166 in Castine. Seven students of the Maritime Academy, including Tavares, were riding in a 2013 Range Rover that crashed into a tree and caught fire.

A Grand Jury has now indicted Noelle Tavares on four counts of manslaughter, four counts of aggravated operating under the influence, two counts of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, and criminal speed.

She was arrested and has now been released after she pleaded not-guilty to all charges against her and paid her bond that was set at $5,000.

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Noelle Tavares is one of the 3 passengers who survived the crash

Noelle Tavares was accompanied by six other people in the Range Rover that crashed. Due to the accident, four individuals died on the spot.

The victims have been identified as Brian Kenealy, 20-year-old from York, Maine; Chase Fossett; 21-year-old from Gardiner, Maine; Luke Simpson, 22-year-old from Rockport, Massachusetts; and Riley Ignacio-Cameron, 20-year-old from Aquinnah, Massachusetts.

Tavares, Joshua Goncalves-Radding, and Dominick Gecoya are the three individuals who survived the accident. Goncalves-Radding, who was driving the car, has been charged on 17 counts, including four counts of manslaughter and aggravated DUI.

Dominick Gecoya’s father owned the car that crashed, and initially, Gecoya was also charged, though the charges against him have been dropped since due to lack of evidence.

Noelle Tavares has pleaded not guilty to the multiple charges against her after she was indicted by a Hancock County Grand Jury on Friday, August 11, 2023.

Hancock County District Attorney Robert Granger said that further details about Tavares’s role in the incident cannot be revealed at the moment but assured that it would be made abundantly clear through the course of the trial.

All students involved attended the Maine maritime Academy. A vigil was organised a few days ago in remembrance of the students who lost their lives.

President Jerry S. Paul, in a statement, said that the loss of the students is a loss to the community as a whole. In his words:

“Mourn these young men in their memory. … They were lost way too soon and before their watch was over. We will carry on for them and at the appropriate time ring eight bells in their honor.”

Noelle Tavares is currently out on bail.