A Somerville resident that hit and killed a Tufts student with his car three years ago is seeking to regain his license, challenging the pretrial probation terms to which he originally agreed.
Frank Privitera, 74, hit Tufts senior and exchange student Boryana "Bory" Damyanova with his Lincoln sedan just outside of Powderhouse Circle on Nov. 22, 2005. After the collision, Damyanova was hit by a second vehicle and died instantly.
On March 4 of that year, Privitera agreed to have his license revoked for five years as a pretrial probation agreement. When a defendant agrees to a pretrial agreement, "as long as you adhere to the terms and you do not commit another crime, then the case is resolved without a guilty finding," according to Jessica Venezia, spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerald T. Leone, Jr.
"He's charged, but basically by agreeing to the terms of the plea, it continues without a finding for whatever period of time they determine," she added.
Venezia said that Privitera no longer agreed with the suspension of his license. "Basically he'll either have a trial or he'll agree to terms of probation."
Theoretically, Privitera's lawyers and the District Attorney's office can renegotiate the probation terms, but Venezia could not comment on whether renegotiation was actually being considered.
"If he doesn't agree to [the terms] then he will have to go to trial," Venezia said, where he would be found either guilty or not guilty.
Privitera's next court appearance is set for March 18 at the Somerville District Court.
Damyanova, 22, was from Sofia, Bulgaria, and was a double major in international relations and economics. She was also a member of the 2003-04 Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizen (EPIIC) class.
The accident occurred as she was about to leave for Thanksgiving break. Since then, the Boryana Damyanova International Students' Scholarship Fund has been created in her honor.
This accident, coupled with other traffic-related incidents in 2006, prompted the city of Somerville to form a task force to evaluate pedestrian safety.
