Constantinos 'Dino' Mitrokostas hopes to start a fund in the name of 13-year-old Jeremiah Smith.

MASHPEE — Constantinos "Dino" Mitrokostas unpacked boxes of reflectors and LED armbands at his Mashpee restaurant Tuesday afternoon while a photo of 13-year-old Jeremiah Smith lay on a table in front of him.

Smith, a Hyannis teen who was living in a foster home in Mashpee, was killed when the Subaru Crosstrek that Mitrokostas was driving struck him as he crossed a dimly lit road on the night of March 1. On Tuesday, Mashpee police officially released a crash reconstruction report and announced that Mitrokostas was not at fault and would not face charges.

"There will be no charges filed and it appeared this was just a tragic accident," Police Chief Scott Carline said.

Mitrokostas, who is well known for his restaurant Dino's Pizza & Sports Bar and his work with several local clubs and charities for children, said his “heart still remains with Jeremiah and his family” and he hopes that some good will come out of the tragedy.

“My biggest thing is that the parents understood and accepted that it was an accident. Fortunately they understood that sometimes bad things happen,” Mitrokostas said. “We cried together and hugged together. I went to the funeral. We both accepted it as our fate and we will be connected forever through Jeremiah."

The incident has prompted Mitrokostas to spearhead an initiative to develop a fund in the teen's name that could help underprivileged youth and promote safety measures.

Smith was wearing dark clothes as he tried to cross Quinaquisset Avenue in the area of Mashpee Neck Road and Orchard Road at around 8:30 that night and was struck by Mitrokostas’ vehicle, which was headed east on Quinaquisset, according to the report by the Barnstable Police Department Crash Reconstruction Team, part of a regional investigative unit.

Since the funeral, Mitrokostas has ordered samples of reflective gear that he hopes eventually to distribute to children and teens on Cape Cod.

"The kids put it on their arm, it flashes. It sounds simple, and it really is simple, but why didn't we think of it before?” Mitrokostas said while opening one box of samples that arrived from China. “Not every kid has the same opportunity that my kids or I had growing up.”

Mitrokostas has been in contact with the town; Smith’s father, George; and his foster father, Stuart Peoples, to develop a fund in the teen’s name.

Plans for the fund have not been finalized, but ideas include raising money to send underprivileged children to a summer camp that Smith had hoped to attend this year.

In the reconstruction report, Officer Matthew Lounsbury wrote that a combination of Smith's dark clothing and the oncoming headlights of an unidentified vehicle in the area at the time led to the tragedy.

“It is the opinion of this officer that Mitrokostas was not able to see Smith in the roadway prior to the crash,” Lounsbury wrote. “Smith was wearing dark clothing, the area was semi-light from streetlights (area of impact was between two different streetlights) and an oncoming vehicle hindered Mitrokostas' view of the roadway.”

Lounsbury added that Smith “put himself in a hazardous situation by attempting to cross a roadway without the benefits of reflective clothing or lights” and that it was his responsibility to make sure the road was clear before crossing. There were no crosswalks in the area, the report notes.

The unidentified vehicle was traveling west on Quinaquisset just before the crash and either made a left turn onto Mashpee Neck or continued west, according to the report. Smith and his companions were crossing the road behind this vehicle, the report says.

After that vehicle passed, Mitrokostas' vehicle struck Smith, who had multiple traumatic injuries and was later pronounced dead at Cape Cod Hospital, according to the report.

The unidentified vehicle's headlights may have obstructed Mitrokostas' vision, according to the report, and could explain why there were no signs he tried to brake.

"... I didn't see the person crossing the street until last split second," the report quotes Mitrokostas as saying. "I tried to turn left quickly and struck him. I stopped immediately and got out to help."

Carline previously said Mitrokostas had attempted lifesaving measures on the teen at the scene.

The report says Mitrokostas' vehicle was traveling 30 to 34 mph in a 30 mph zone. The air bags did not deploy in the crash, the report says.

Two witnesses who were driving on Orchard Road moments before the crash told police they came upon three youths walking in the street and had to pull into the opposite lane to avoid them, according to the report. "Very dark clothing, they were hard to see until I was very close to them," one witness said.

A third witness saw the group walking in the road at the intersection of Orchard and Quinaquisset. "I could barely see the kids because of the lack of lighting in the roadway," the report quotes that witness as saying.

Although the incident left Mitrokostas distraught, he said he knew in his heart that it was an accident.

Since March 1, his own children have learned a life lesson about why parents worry so much when they leave the house, he said.

— Follow Haven Orecchio-Egresitz on Twitter: @HavenCCT.