BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Three of the charges against Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara in connection to a car crash in Jamaica Plain last summer were dropped Friday, according to court records.
Lara, 34, was hit with nine counts after her car collided into a home on Center Street in Jamaica Plain on June 30. Her son Zaire, 7, was in the car at the time and taken to Boston Children's Hospital to receive stitches over his eye.
The police report said Lara was driving with a revoked license, the vehicle was unregistered with no insurance, the inspection sticker was expired, and the child was not in a booster seat. Police also said Lara was traveling at an estimated 53 miles per hour, more than double the speed limit.
Lara has asserted the crash happened because she swerved to avoid another car pulling away from the curb and "could not hit the brakes fast enough before colliding with the home," the police report said. In September, Lara released findings by a private company that used electronic data from her vehicle's black box to find that she was only driving 27 miles per hour.
Prosecutors have now dismissed charges of speeding and reckless operation, while Lara was also found "not responsible" for driving without a seatbelt.
Lara and her attorney, Carlton E. Williams, appeared in Boston Municipal Court in West Roxbury Friday seeking to get the remaining charges thrown out. Those charges include recklessly permitting bodily injury to a child under 14 years old, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, driving with a suspended license, driving an uninsured vehicle, driving an unregistered vehicle, and not placing a child under 8 years old and under 58 inches in a car seat.
Lara has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Her next court date is Nov. 15.
The District 6 councilor was first elected in 2021, but lost the preliminary election Sept. 12. She will serve out the rest of her term before leaving office in January.
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