Anne Schlichtig, who was 26 at the time of the crash, allegedly drove into Roberta A. Salois, 47, and her 9-year-old son, Steven X. Smith-Salois, of 555 Russell Road, killing them, as they attempted to cross South Maple Street on Oct. 31, 2008.
This 2008 Republican file photo shows the friends and family of Roberta Salois and Steven Smith-Salois mourning over a memorial on South Maple Street where the mother and son were killed on Oct. 31, 2008 as they crossed the street while trick-or-treating. WESTFIELD- The woman accused of running over and killing a mother and son who were trick-or-treating in Westfield in 2008 has been arraigned on vehicular homicide charges.
Anne Schlichtig, who was 26 at the time of the crash, allegedly drove her 2005 Toyota into Roberta A. Salois, 47, and her 9-year-old son, Steven X. Smith-Salois, as they attempted to cross South Maple Street in their hometown of Westfield at about 8:13 p.m. on Oct. 31, 2008.
The mother was pronounced dead at Noble Hospital in Westfield while her son was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.
Schlichtig is facing two counts of negligent motor vehicular homicide in connection with the incident and was released following her court appearance this week. She is scheduled to return to court in December for a subsequent hearing.
According to published reports, Schlichtig admitted to witnesses on scene that she shouldn't have been driving at night because of a medical condition that affects the cornea.
An Associated Press article from 2008 said the Westfield police reported that the mother and son were wearing dark clothing on a street with dark sidewalks.
A lifelong Westfield resident, Roberta Salois graduated from Westfield High School in 1981. She was employed as a cafeteria worker at St. Mary's School in Westfield and the Garda Armored Car Company.
Steven Smith-Salois was a fourth-grader at Juniper Park Elementary School in Westfield and a member of the Westfield YMCA.
As strange as fate may be, the incident that claimed their lives wasn't the first brush with disaster for the family in relation to Halloween.
On Oct. 29, 1994, Reign E. Salois Jr., Roberta Salois' nephew, then 16 years old, became a quadriplegic after being hit by a drunken driver while walking with friends on Court Street from a YMCA haunted house exhibit.
He suffered injuries to his head, neck, arms and legs while being dragged by the car some 100 feet down Court Street, less than one mile from the site of the accident that killed his aunt and cousin 14 years later. He died in 2005 at age 27.