A Massachusetts man has been acquitted by a judge in a 2019 crash that killed a North Adams man.

Michael Taylor, 41, of Adams was found not responsible for the death of 61-year-old Anthony Emard.

Prosecutors didn’t provide enough evidence for a guilty verdict, he said.

Taylor and Trever Field were racing on Route 8 in Cheshire on Oct. 20, 2019, when prosecutors said he crashed into Emard’s car and killed him, NewsChannel 13’s media partners at The Berkshire Eagle reported.

Field had entered the wrong lane to try to pass Taylor, which clipped Taylor’s vehicle and caused it to spin and strike Emard’s car, police said.

Taylor was charged with negligent motor vehicle homicide. The charge was downgraded from a felony to a misdemeanor because of a clerical error.

Judge Paul Vrabel ruled that the people had not proved that he had made a prior agreement to race with Field, the paper reported. 

Field had suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash and the district attorney dropped charges against him on the grounds that he was not competent to stand trial.