11 years after fatal crash, Milford Ecuadorians seek acceptance

MILFORD — During the early 2000s, Milford saw a huge influx of natives from Ecuador, a Spanish-speaking country of about 18 million citizens that straddles the equator on South America's west coast.

Many observers say that for a while, Ecuadorian immigrants were effectively easing their way into the local community, at least until a devastating and polarizing incident in 2011.

On Aug. 20 of that year, Matthew Denice, 23, of Milford, was riding his motorcycle when a pickup truck driven by Nicolas Dutan Guaman struck him at Fayette and Congress streets, dragging Denice for more than a quarter-mile, killing him.

Authorities said Guaman, who was an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador, was drunk and rolled through a stop sign to cause the accident. Guaman was later convicted of manslaughter and other charges in Worcester District Court and sentenced to 12 to 14 years in prison.

He remains behind bars at North Central Correctional Institution in Gardner.

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The case led to tension between the Ecuadorian community and longtime Milford residents, according to Select Board member Tom O'Loughlin, who was police chief at the time.

"People wanted us to pull everyone over, they wanted us to target them," said O'Loughlin. "We told them, that's not how things work. We can't assume everyone who looks like they may be from Ecuador doesn't have a license."

Denice's mother, Maureen Maloney, became vice president of an organization called Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime, a nonprofit that says it fights illegal immigration. Earlier this year, she spoke out against a bill that would allow immigrants without legal status eligible to apply for Massachusetts driver's licenses. The bill became law during the summer, and voters upheld it when it became a ballot question last month.

Maloney couldn't be reached for comment for this story.

Milford as a melting pot

O'Loughlin said he understands the anger that Denice's family has, but stressed Milford has always been and will always be a melting pot of different cultures.

"Their loss is so huge," he said. "I've lost a son. He died as a baby in my arms. I've carried it forever. It's hard to lose a son. I get it.

"Milford had been the melting pot, it was Italian and then Irish, and then it was Portugal, and then it was Brazilian," he continued. "Now it's the Ecuadorians, and it's been a little tougher, but as more of them come here, they're getting more assimilated."

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Massachusetts has a fairly large Ecuadorian population. According to a 2020 study conducted by UMass-Boston researchers, there were more than 16,000 of them living in the state as of 2018, eighth most nationally.

Among individual communities, Worcester had the most Ecuadorians, followed by Milford, Lowell, Boston and Fall River. Milford, with about 30,000 residents, is far smaller than any of those other communities.

Of the Massachusetts Ecuadorian population, as of 2017, 62% were U.S. citizens. The study also said the Ecuadorian population skewed young, with an average age of 27. It had lower-than-average marriage rates relative to other Latino groups in the state.

Massachusetts Ecuadorians, compared to other Latino populations in the state, contained fewer English speakers — only 57% of Ecuadorians speak English, compared to more than 65% of other Latino populations.

Ecuadorians speak both Spanish and Quichua, an indigenous language.

The Rev. Victor Sierra is associate pastor of St. Mary of Assumption Church in Milford, where a large number of Ecuadorians worship. He was not in Milford at the time of the Denice case but had heard about it and the subsequent anger directed toward local Ecuadorians.

"We are working on trying to get things better, little by little," said Sierra. "Right now, the community is doing better. When we have activities in church, we try to have the activities with Hispanics, Brazilians, Portuguese and the Americans together so they can all be accepted together. It's doing better."

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Adriana Espinoza has lived in Milford for 14 years. She was born in New York and her parents are from Ecuador.She said things were not good between native Milford residents and Ecuadorians in the immediate aftermath of the Denice case. She said things have since improved, although there are still issues.

"It's settled down a bit, but I still feel Ecuadorians are being looked down on," Espinoza said. "It was very tragic, very tragic, what happened, but it was one person's mistake, not all of ours' mistake."

Ecuadorian residents, from a police perspective, are just another part of the community, according to Deputy Police Chief John Sanchioni.

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"They're really entrenched here in our community," he said. "They are really part of the community. They have businesses here and a lot of them work here."

Because of the mistrust some have toward Ecuadorians, Espinoza said a lot of them insulate themselves with one another, even children in school.

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Espinoza said many people believe all Ecuadorians are frequently drunk and are bad for the community. She said she believes people have to stop blaming all Ecuadorians for the bad action of one man before things can really improve measurably.

"People view us as 'irresponsible people,' and it makes the Ecuadorian community look bad," she said. "Let that man's mistake be his mistake, not everyone's mistake. No one is perfect, there's so many people who do that (drink and drive) who aren't Ecuadorians. It irritates me. How are we going to move forward if we don't get by this?"

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 11 years after fatal crash, Milford Ecuadorians strive for acceptance