BEVERLY - A Beverly police officer will face charges of negligent vehicular homicide in a crash that killed a Cabot Street woman one Saturday morning in January.
State police yesterday cited Patrolman Stuart Merry, 40, on the misdemeanor vehicular homicide charge, as well as with speeding, failing to stay within marked lanes and driving without a license - Merry's license had just expired on his birthday that month.
The Jan. 20 crash killed Bonney Burns, 61, who was sitting in her parked car outside the 361 Cabot St. apartment where she lived alone. Normally she would have parked behind the building, her landlord said at the time, but on that Saturday morning, just after 9 a.m., she was likely unloading groceries from her car.
Her car was in the path of Merry's out-of-control 2006 Ford Crown Victoria cruiser, which veered across the double-yellow line on Cabot Street and crashed into her Toyota Camry.
The reasons for the crash remain unclear.
Beverly police immediately suggested the cause was a "sudden acceleration" issue that had been reported with the Crown Victoria cruisers and produced records showing the problem had been reported to Ford. Ford found no mechanical problem with the vehicle.
While state police and prosecutors provided no details yesterday beyond a list of the charges, the decision to charge Merry with negligent vehicular homicide appears to be a rejection of that theory.
Last night, however, Beverly police Lt. Mark Ray - who is being sworn in as chief today - said the department has 15 incidents on file where officers reported their squad cars showing the kind of spontaneous acceleration alleged in the Merry case.
Merry, who has been on paid leave since the crash, could face up to 21/2 years in jail if convicted of the vehicular homicide charge. The other charges carry fines if convicted.
Merry, 40, missed 111 days of work in 2006, according to police attendance records, and he was out for 21 straight days before returning to work the day before his crash. His lawyer would not say why Merry missed so much time but said those absences had nothing to do with the crash. The lawyer also said Merry passed a drug and alcohol blood test after the crash.
Merry remains on injured status and continues to recuperate from the injuries he sustained in the crash.
State police yesterday cited Patrolman Stuart Merry, 40, on the misdemeanor vehicular homicide charge, as well as with speeding, failing to stay within marked lanes and driving without a license - Merry's license had just expired on his birthday that month.
The Jan. 20 crash killed Bonney Burns, 61, who was sitting in her parked car outside the 361 Cabot St. apartment where she lived alone. Normally she would have parked behind the building, her landlord said at the time, but on that Saturday morning, just after 9 a.m., she was likely unloading groceries from her car.
Her car was in the path of Merry's out-of-control 2006 Ford Crown Victoria cruiser, which veered across the double-yellow line on Cabot Street and crashed into her Toyota Camry.
The reasons for the crash remain unclear.
Beverly police immediately suggested the cause was a "sudden acceleration" issue that had been reported with the Crown Victoria cruisers and produced records showing the problem had been reported to Ford. Ford found no mechanical problem with the vehicle.
While state police and prosecutors provided no details yesterday beyond a list of the charges, the decision to charge Merry with negligent vehicular homicide appears to be a rejection of that theory.
Last night, however, Beverly police Lt. Mark Ray - who is being sworn in as chief today - said the department has 15 incidents on file where officers reported their squad cars showing the kind of spontaneous acceleration alleged in the Merry case.
Merry, who has been on paid leave since the crash, could face up to 21/2 years in jail if convicted of the vehicular homicide charge. The other charges carry fines if convicted.
Merry, 40, missed 111 days of work in 2006, according to police attendance records, and he was out for 21 straight days before returning to work the day before his crash. His lawyer would not say why Merry missed so much time but said those absences had nothing to do with the crash. The lawyer also said Merry passed a drug and alcohol blood test after the crash.
Merry remains on injured status and continues to recuperate from the injuries he sustained in the crash.
"He still has issues with his foot," Ray said.
'Remorse and sorrow'
Neil Rossman, Merry's lawyer, called the decision to charge his client "regrettable" and said the crash was simply an unfortunate accident.
"Officer Merry maintains his innocence of this criminal charge, while continuing to feel and express remorse and sorrow over his involvement in the death of (Bonney) Burns," Rossman said in a prepared statement.
"Officer Merry has worked diligently to rehabilitate himself, both physically and emotionally, to return to duty," Rossman's statement continued. "This return will now, obviously, be delayed months, if not years, by the filing of this charge."
Rossman said he intends to ask for a clerk magistrate's "show cause" hearing in the case, where police and prosecutors would have to provide the evidence on which they based their decision to charge Merry.
The paperwork connected with the charge had not been filed at Salem District Court as of yesterday afternoon, and a hearing date has not been set.
Rossman questioned the motives of Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett in allowing the criminal case to proceed now, seven months after the crash, and the timing of the charges - on police Chief John Cassola's last day on the job.
"Perhaps it has to do with the departure of John Cassola as chief of police," Rossman suggested in a written statement. "Perhaps it is political or perhaps the DA's office doesn't know what else to do."
Blodgett, reached for reaction, said that's untrue.
"As in every case, the application for a complaint is based on careful and thorough review of the information and evidence in our possession," Blodgett said. "This case has been actively and professionally reviewed from the day it was referred to us by the Beverly Police Department."
Ray said Blodgett notified him of the decision yesterday. The new chief added that the decision to file the charges was solely in the district attorney's hands.
"(The complaint) was based on information they received, and they decided to take the action they did," Ray said.
Merry has worked for the Police Department since 2000, first as a reserve officer and since 2002 as a full-time patrolman. Prior to that, he was an auxiliary police officer in Hamilton and also worked for the state Environmental Police.
Burns, who was divorced and had no children or brothers and sisters, had two cousins. One of them, Susan Vik of Cambridge, said she was "mostly relieved" to hear that the charges had been filed, though she was also hoping that it was mechanical error rather than the result of the officer's actions, saying it must be a terrible thing for the officer and his family.
"Her death was so sudden and bizarre and needless," Vik said. "My biggest fear was that we'd never know anything. I'm just glad that they've been working on it, and there has been some progress."
Staff writer Bruno Matarazzo Jr. contributed to this report.
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