Cape DA Says Office Made A Mistake In Case Of Man Who Allegedly Caused Fatal Crash

The Cape and Islands district attorney is apologizing for how his office handled a previous case of a man authorities say is responsible for a head-on crash in Cotuit Saturday that killed the man himself and a new dad.

DA Michael O'Keefe told the Boston Globe that an assistant district attorney handling the drunk driving case of Mickey Rivera two months ago made a mistake, and should have asked for the 22-year-old to be held on higher bail.

O'Keefe said the prosecutor, who was new to the job, wasn't aware of Rivera's other pending charges in connection with a Fall River murder two years ago.

Kevin Quinn, 32, was driving home on Route 28 just after midnight Saturday after visiting his wife and newborn daughter at the hospital. Police say Rivera hit Quinn's car head on. Quinn and Rivera were killed in the crash. A female passenger of Rivera's was seriously injured.

In addition to the drunk driving charge, Rivera was also under indictment in Bristol Superior Court in connection with a fatal shooting from 2015. Police say Rivera was part of a group looking to rob someone, leading to the fatal shooting of Anthony Carvalhho in Fall River.

He was released in September after a judge reduced his bail from $35,000 to $1,000, following a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision that said bail costs for poor defendants must be affordable.

Quinn was a Marine veteran who had served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He'd spent Saturday night with his wife, Kara, and their first child, Logan, who was born Wednesday.

An online fundraiser to support Quinn's widow and daughter has raised more than $225,000.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.