Kendra Lara, 33, crashed her car in Boston on Friday while her license was revoked, and with her seven-year-old son inside, not using a booster seat
Lara’s vehicle was unregistered and uninsured: it was totaled, and her son needed stitches at the Boston Children’s Hospital
She is charged with operation of a motor vehicle after suspension, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle
By HARRIET ALEXANDER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
The first black socialist woman elected to Boston City Council crashed her car while driving through the city in an unregistered, uninsured car, while her license was revoked.
Kendra Lara, 33, totaled the gray 2019 Honda Civic when it crashed through a metal fence, ran over bushes, and slammed into the left side of a home in the Jamaica Plains district.
Her seven-year-old son Zaire was in the car, but was not in a booster seat.
He was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital where he received ‘several stitches’ and is expected to make a full recovery.
According to the police report, obtained by The New York Post, Lara could be reported for child abuse or neglect for failing to secure a child under eight.
Kendra Lara, 33, is pictured with her seven-year-old son Zaire. The pair were both injured when Lara crashed her unlicensed car on Friday afternoon, driving on a revoked license
Lara’s car crashed through a fence and hit a house in the Jamaica Plains district of Boston
A 51A report which must be submitted to the Department of Children and Families when ‘child abuse or neglect’ is suspected could be filed ‘due to neglect and failure to use a proper car seat for the child’s safety.’
Lee Nave, Lara’s chief of staff, said the city councilor suffered ‘some cuts and will probably require some stitches.’
He added: ‘She braced for the airbag and then climbed in the back to get him out.’
Nave said Lara was driving when she swerved to avoid an accident and crashed through a fence and yard before striking a house.
‘It was a very scary situation for everyone involved but thankfully Councilor Lara and Zaire are expected to make a full recovery,’ he added.
The driver of the other vehicle said that Lara was driving at high speed.
He told officers he was ‘barely in motion’ when he noticed Lara’s Civic rapidly approaching at around 4:25pm on Friday.
He said that her Civic sped past him and ‘suddenly turned left, crashing into the home.’
Boston police are still investigating, and assessing damage to the house, The Boston Globe reported.
Lara will be summonsed to West Roxbury Court for charges including operation of a motor vehicle after suspension, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
A second person will be summonsed for allowing unlicensed operation and allowing operation of the unregistered motor vehicle, the police report said.
Lara was elected in November 2021 as the first black female socialist on Boston City Council
Lara has multiple driving offenses on her record, obtained by The Boston Herald.
In 2014 she was accused of not wearing a seatbelt and not obeying a traffic sign. She failed to appear in court in Connecticut, and her license was revoked.
The record also shows a violation in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester in August 2010, for not possessing a vehicle registration.
Lara, born in the Bronx to Dominican immigrants, grew up in Boston and worked as the Director of Radical Philanthropy at the Boston-based organization Resist, founded 50 years ago by Noam Chomsky.
The group is designed to be ‘a leading force for racial and economic justice’, according to Lara’s official biography.
She was elected in November 2021 and took up her seat in January 2022, insisting that the word socialism should not scare people.
‘When I’m in conversation with people who are apprehensive about Socialism, I ask them to consider who stands to benefit from maintaining the status quo. Who wins when workers are exploited? Who profits if we can’t afford healthcare? Who benefits when housing is unaffordable?’ she told Jamaica Plains News in January 2022.
‘Socialism benefits the vast majority of us.
‘There are a few – those who benefit from the oppression and exploitation of others – that, in a narrow view, stand to lose something in a fair and equal society.
‘Unsurprisingly, these are the folks who often get to shape the public narrative.
‘Whether through decades-long propaganda campaigns from the US government or political mailers like the ones sent out by my opponent, they’ve managed to convince our neighbors and us that socialism is a threat. But a threat to what? And to whom?’