LOWELL — A Hudson man accused of striking a 75-year-old woman in a Chelmsford medical-office parking lot and fleeing the scene has been indicted on charges including motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
Steven Muller, 38, was indicted by a Middlesex Superior Court grand jury on Wednesday, after Irene LePage died April 8 at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington from injuries she suffered in the March 25 crash at Atrius Health on Billerica Road, according to a Chelmsford Police Department incident report.
Muller was initially charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person over 60, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of personal injury, leaving the scene of property damage, speeding and two counts of failing to stop/yield.
The indictment follows an upgrade of the charges after LePage’s death.
“Based on this development, the charges in this matter have been upgraded to reflect the fatal nature of the incident,” police said in an updated incident report, adding that Muller’s actions “demonstrate a clear pattern of willful, wanton, and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.”
“The defendant accelerated at an unreasonable rate of speed through a crowded medical facility parking (lot) during normal business hours, striking a pedestrian with such force that she was vaulted onto the hood of the vehicle and ultimately suffered fatal injuries,” the report states.
Police allege Muller continued driving after striking LePage and later concealed his vehicle behind a commercial property before fleeing on foot into a wooded area.
While investigators acknowledged Muller may have been experiencing a mental-health episode at the time of the crash, they noted that “his actions, including fleeing multiple crash scenes, attempting to conceal evidence, and avoiding law enforcement, demonstrate awareness of wrongdoing and do not negate the reckless and criminal nature of his conduct.”
LePage’s death came nearly two weeks after the crash, which prosecutors previously described as the culmination of a chaotic series of events in the Atrius Health parking lot.
During Muller’s arraignment in Lowell District Court the day after the crash, prosecutors said witnesses observed him behaving erratically before the collision, including talking to himself, screaming, laughing and making references to “The Wizard of Oz.”
Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Sheehan McCarthy said during the arraignment that Muller abruptly stormed out of the Atrius Health building, at which point witnesses saw him “screaming, continuing to talk to himself, laughing maniacally to himself, and disparaging his children.”
He was then seen getting into a black SUV “while continuing to scream and laugh,” McCarthy said. As he reversed out of his parking space, he is alleged to have nearly struck a mother and three small children who were walking behind the vehicle.
“He then accelerated so fast that his tires screeched and it was at that time that Mrs. LePage was struck,” McCarthy said.
She added that Muller did not stop after hitting the woman and instead drove off “with such vigor that he struck another motor vehicle that was driving while he was fleeing.”
A court-appointed psychologist later testified that Muller appeared to be suffering from a potential acute psychotic episode and posed a risk to others.
Judge Mark Fabiano subsequently set bail at $10,000 and ordered Muller committed to Bridgewater State Hospital for competency and criminal-responsibility evaluations.
Muller continues to be held on a $10,000 cash bail following his indictment, according to court records. He will be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court at a later date.
According to her obituary, LePage was born in Isny, Germany, in the years following World War II and immigrated to the U.S. through Ellis Island with her family in 1951. The family settled in Lowell, where she spent much of her childhood.
LePage went on to build a career in finance, serving as a controller and financial officer for several startup companies before later working at the Paul Center for Learning and Development in Chelmsford.
She met her husband, John LePage, in Lowell, and the couple spent more than 50 years together building a life and raising a family in Chelmsford.
She was remembered as a devoted mother, grandmother and animal lover whose greatest joy was spending time with her family.
“Her greatest joy was always her family,” her obituary states. “She created a home that was warm and welcoming, and she especially cherished the holidays, taking great pride in decorating and creating a sense of beauty and tradition that became a hallmark of her home. She shared this love with her children, passing down an appreciation for those moments and the care that made them special. She had a natural sense of style and carried herself with a quiet elegance that was unmistakably her own.”
Family members remembered LePage as a warm, forgiving and open-hearted woman who loved spending time with her children and grandson, described in her obituary as “the light of her life.”
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
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