A Roslindale man was today sentenced to serve five years in jail after he admitted that he was under the influence of alcohol when he struck and killed 23-year-old Andrew Prior in a collision on Tremont Street before fleeing the scene, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced.

COLIN RATIU (D.O.B. 11/27/87) pleaded guilty to one count each of motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of an accident causing death for his role in the Nov. 14, 2010 collision.

Assistant District Attorney David Bradley of District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s Major Felony Bureau recommended that Ratiu be sentenced to a term of six to eight years in State Prison; Superior Court Judge Carol Ball ordered that Ratiu be sentenced to a total of five years in the House of Corrections. Following sentencing, Ratiu was taken into custody.

David Prior, the victim’s father, spoke on behalf of the family in a victim impact statement. He described the family’s pain since his son’s death. “We will never hear from our Andy again,” he said, holding back tears. He described how his son – a Syracuse native who graduated from Northeastern University – enjoyed helping others. He told the court that when Prior was a teenager, he volunteered at Francis House – an organization based in Syracuse, NY, where terminally ill people spend the last few weeks of their life. “He volunteered there for two years. He used to go read to terminally ill people. He used to feed terminally ill people. He used to talk to and hold their hands.”

“He went on to become a wonderful student at Northeastern University and became an interpreter to continue his service and help other people,” Prior’s father continued. “That’s who was taken from us.”

“Andrew Prior was by all accounts a promising young man who touched many people’s lives and was dedicated to helping people,” District Attorney Conley said. “Because of the defendant’s reckless decision to consume alcohol and get behind the wheel of a car, we will never know what Mr. Prior could have contributed to society and the world. This is an unimaginable loss and ordeal for his family and friends, and our hearts go out to them.”

Had the case gone to trial, Bradley would have proven that on the night of November 14, Ratiu consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana at his home before attending a Kings of Leon concert at the TD Garden, where he drank more alcohol in the form of two “nip” bottles of bourbon. Ratiu was driving home in his mother’s Hyundai Santa Fe sport-utility vehicle when he struck Prior, who was riding on his Genuine Buddy scooter on Tremont Street near Roxbury Crossing.

A witness told investigators that he spoke with Ratiu shortly before the 11:30 p.m. collision and could tell by the sound of his voice that he was intoxicated. Ratiu also made statements admitting that he remembered driving a car and being in an accident but was blackout drunk and couldn’t believe that a valet gave him back his keys.

A search warrant on Ratiu’s phone led to the recovery of a text message to his mother in which he acknowledged crashing his mother’s SUV, Bradley said. That SUV was found parked at his mother’s house with major damage to the body and windshield, both airbags deployed, and pieces of Prior’s scooter wedged into its front end.

Boston Police responding to the area of the collision found Prior mortally wounded and his scooter “crumpled” on the street. Prior later died of his injuries at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
After obtaining video surveillance images from the area, Boston Police publicized the make and model of the suspect vehicle and asked area auto body shops to be on the lookout for one with collision damage. They also reviewed the registration information for “several hundred” Santa Fes registered in the Boston area before receiving a tip in February.

Michael Schultz was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Ratiu was represented by attorney Neni Odiaga.