Authorities have charged a Massachusetts trooper after he was allegedly involved in a fatal drunk driving accident while off duty last Sunday. A 64-year-old Carver, Massachusetts, woman and her 23-year-old daughter lost their lives in the wreck. Police believe that the mother may have crossed the center line before the trooper’s car slammed head on into hers on Federal Furnace Road in Plymouth shortly after Midnight last Sunday morning.
The Carver woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the horrific head-on crash. Her daughter was pronounced dead after being transported to an area hospital. The off-duty state trooper suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital in Weymouth. He has been released from the hospital after receiving treatment for non-life threatening injuries.
Authorities do not know why the woman may have crossed the center line before the accident. Police say that the 25-year-old off-duty trooper was drunk at the time of the wreck. He reportedly tested slightly more than three times the legal limit for alcohol—measuring 0.26 percent BAC after the fatal wreck. Accident reconstructionists with the Massachusetts State Police are investigating the fatal accident.
The trooper has been charged with negligence and drunk driving. Law enforcement says that as the investigation continues, additional charges may follow.
Investigators have not completed the investigation. The idea that the woman may have crossed the center line, while the trooper was operating under the influence, may bring serious questions related to potential fault in the crash.
In civil proceedings in Massachusetts, state law uses a system known as modified comparative negligence. A driver who is injured in an accident may be able to recover if his or her degree of fault is less than that of another driver (or less than the combined negligence attributable to others in wrecks involving several vehicles). In fatal accident cases, families may seek justice in a wrongful death action for the negligence others.
