Grand jury indicts alleged drunk driver

... who killed Ghanaian
MARLBOROUGH -- A twice-convicted drunken driver who was allegedly drunk when she struck and killed a Worcester man changing a flat tire on I-290 last month was indicted by a grand jury yesterday.

Naomi McCarthy, 39, of Woburn, was indicted on charges of motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of an accident causing death and operating under the influence of liquor, third offense, according to Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley's office.

A Superior Court arraignment date has not been set.

McCarthy is charged with the Oct. 27 death of Issoufou Zerne, a 37-year-old Ghana immigrant.

State police believe Zerne had pulled over in the breakdown lane on Interstate 290 eastbound to change the tire on his Toyota Camry.

McCarthy was allegedly driving her 1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo eastbound on I-290 when she swerved into the breakdown lane striking Zerne.

After the accident, McCarthy hitched a ride with a Hudson couple who dropped her off at the Hudson Stop & Shop supermarket.

The Hudson couple then called Marlborough Police to report the accident.

McCarthy has two previous OUI convictions, one in 1990 and one in 1999, as well as a history of defaulting on court appearances.

She was off probation only three weeks before the Oct. 27 fatal accident.

District Judge Paul McGill held McCarthy without bail after a dangerousness hearing on Oct. 31 in Marlborough.