By Julie Manganis
A Gloucester woman has been charged with running down an elderly nun in a crosswalk, then giving police her sister's name.
Kalem Goodwin, 32, of 19 Commonwealth Ave., was arraigned yesterday on charges of misleading police in an investigation, driving after license suspension, driving to endanger, giving a false name to police and failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
The accident occurred on Market Street in downtown Ipswich on the afternoon of Oct. 29.
Sister Agnes Pashby, 77, who lives in a retirement convent of the Sisters of Notre Dame, was struck by a car as she crossed the street around 2:20 p.m., Ipswich police Lt. Dan Moriarty said.
Pashby suffered a broken arm and broken leg and was hospitalized. She is now back at the convent, recovering.
The driver gave police a name, and police issued a citation to her under that name for the crosswalk violation. Several weeks later, a woman showed up at the Ipswich police station, saying she'd just been notified by her insurance company about the accident, which she knew nothing about.
Detective Ted Gallivan and Patrolman Dan Kmiec investigated and eventually confirmed that Goodwin, who has no license and is on probation, had used her sister's name at the scene, Moriarty said.
Ipswich police obtained a warrant for Goodwin's arrest, and she was picked up in Gloucester on Tuesday.
Newburyport District Court Judge Allen Swan set bail at $500 cash.
During the court hearing, Goodwin's brother Justin, who was a passenger in the car that day, insisted that it was his other sister who was driving and that Kalem was not in an accident.
Justin and Kalem Goodwin are at the center of a high-profile civil and criminal case in Gloucester stemming from an incident in which police say that Justin Goodwin was attacked by a group of men outside the Old Timer's Tavern after he tried to defend Kalem from being assaulted.
Julie Manganis may be contacted at jmanganis@gloucestertimes.com.
