By Edward Mason and Laurel J. Sweet
Boston Herald
WEYMOUTH, Mass. — A Weymouth police officer working a traffic detail was struck and killed yesterday by an elderly driver who pinned the Iraq vet against a parked utility truck, police said.
Officer Michael Davey, 34, a father of three who served 18 months in Iraq, was pronounced dead at South Shore Hospital after the crash, authorities said.
He was hit by 79-year-old Ronald Gale of Weymouth while working a detail just before 10 a.m., authorities said.
Norfolk District Attorney William Keating said Gale’s license has been suspended because he is an immediate threat to public safety. The Registry of Motor Vehicles said Gale’s driving record was otherwise spotless.
Keating declined to say whether Gale’s age was a factor. He did say that Gale “didn’t try and flee” the scene.
Davey was working a police detail at the intersection of West Street and Route 18 this morning when he was hit. He was directing traffic at a utility work site when Gale drove his Mazda pickup through a stop sign, hit a Toyota Camry and kept going, slamming Davey against the utility truck, authorities said.
Gale’s wife, Frances, 78, told the Herald they would have “no comment until the investigation is complete.”
Davey, a National Guard veteran of the Iraq war and five-year member of the Weymouth police force, testified earlier this year at the murder trial of Ryan Bois, a man convicted of breaking into the Weymouth home of his grandmother in 2007 and raping and murdering his 6-year-old cousin Joanna Mullin.
“The town of Weymouth is deeply saddened and shocked,” said Weymouth Mayor Susan M. Kay. “It will take a long time to get over this.”
Davey’s father is a recently retired Weymouth police officer.
Weymouth police Chief Tim Carr said Davey was a “vital part” of the Mullin case and an “exemplary officer.” A teary-eyed Carr also added the force is “distraught” by the loss of Davey.
Police were standing guard at Davey’s widow’s modest Weymouth home, denying access to a Herald reporter. A neighbor near Gale’s Weymouth trailer threatened to call police.
Gale is charged with motor vehicle homicide, speeding, failure to stop at a stop sign and two negligent operation charges. A date for his arraignment has not been set.
Copyright 2009 Boston Herald