By Kathy McCabe and Hailey Heinz
The Boston Globe
BEVERLY -- A police cruiser crashed into a parked car yesterday morning, killing a woman sitting in the car and injuring the officer, prosecutors said.
The accident happened downtown, at the intersection of Cabot Street and Columbus Avenue, about 9:30 a.m., Police Chief John Cassola said.
The woman, believed to be in her 60s, died at the scene; the officer, Stuart Merry , 40, of Beverly, was taken to Beverly Hospital for treatment of injuries that were described as not life-threatening.
Steve O’Connell, a spokesman for the Essex district attorney’s office, said the accident apparently occurred when Merry, who was driving southbound on Cabot Street, swerved to the left over a double yellow line and struck the victim’s parked Toyota Camry. She was the only person in the car.
O’Connell said it was unclear what had caused the accident. There were no skid marks at the scene, and police said there was no indication the cruiser had been chasing another vehicle.
Lieutenant Tim Hegarty said an off-duty Beverly police officer, David Faustino , was driving on Cabot Street and came upon the accident scene.
He used the radio in Merry’s cruiser to call in the accident, and all available officers responded. Hegarty said the scene was “hugely unsettling” for the officers.
“It’s never easy to respond to such accidents,” he said. “When you respond and it’s a guy who you work with day to day, it hits home.”
Hegarty said Cassola, a 45-year veteran of the force, could not recall any previous time a Beverly police officer had been involved in a fatal car crash.
Hegarty described Merry as “an all-around nice guy.” He had been on routine patrol since 7:45 a.m. when the accident occurred.
The victim’s identity was being withheld pending family notification, and police were investigating the cause of the crash.
Robin Gillette, owner of The Healing Haven, a massage center on Cabot Street, said she was delayed getting to her business yesterday morning because the street was closed down.
Gillette is also a guidance counselor at Briscoe Middle School and knows many local police officers. “We have a very good police force,” she said. “I’ve never seen any of them drive recklessly.”