Crime
The man was sentenced five years to the day after he robbed a 7-Eleven and caused a fatal crash while trying to evade the police.
Ashley Forward was killed five years ago Tuesday in a wrong-way crash in Saugus.
Handout
A Salem man was sentenced to decades in prison Tuesday, five years to the day after he killed a nursing student in a wrong-way crash while fleeing the scene of a robbery, according to prosecutors.
William Leger, 40, pleaded guilty in Essex County Superior Court to charges of manslaughter, unarmed robbery, and receiving a stolen vehicle. He was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison for manslaughter, followed by six to eight years in prison for the robbery and five years of probation upon his release, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
On June 9, 2021, Leger robbed a 7-Eleven store on Lincoln Avenue in Saugus and fled from police, according to the DA’s office. He stole a vehicle, initiating a brief police chase that was called off when he began driving south in the northbound lanes of Route 107.
After driving about half a mile, he collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Ashley Forward, 19, of Lynn. Forward was killed in the crash, while Leger was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Leger initially faced additional charges, including vehicular homicide by reckless operation and driving with a suspended license. Three months after the crash, he was indicted for murder. These charges were all dropped as a result of his guilty plea.
In 2024, Forward’s mother, Michelle Luongo, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Leger, the town of Saugus, and two of its police officers. The lawsuit alleged that the two officers, Michael Richards and Sean Murphy, led an “unreasonable and extremely dangerous pursuit” of Leger.
Richards and Murphy’s “dangerous high-speed chase” exceeded 80 miles per hour before Leger collided with Forward’s vehicle, according to the lawsuit. The complaint also stated that Leger was “well-known” to Saugus police and could have been apprehended without a high-speed chase.
Forward was a graduate of KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate High School, according to prosecutors. At the time of her death, she had just finished her first year as a nursing student at Emmanuel College.
Outside of school, Forward volunteered with My Brother’s Table and the Boys & Girls Club of Lynn. Before Leger’s sentencing, Luongo, as well as Forward’s younger sister Jillian, spoke about her impact.
“Ashley was a remarkable young woman with a bright future ahead of her,” Luongo said. “Nursing was not just a career choice for her — it reflected who she was. She wanted to care for people, to comfort them, and to heal them. Her life mattered deeply — not just to her family, her friends, or the community where she gave so much of her time, but to the people she would have helped along the way.”
Leger’s attorney, Jeffrey Sweeney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
