BEVERLY — A trucker who tried to start his stalled 131âÑ2-ton dump truck last October by throwing it in neutral and pushing it from behind — only to send it crashing head-on into a police officer sitting in a pickup truck — will spend 18 months on unsupervised probation, a judge ordered yesterday.
Stephen Saldi, 53, of Groveland admitted to sufficient facts on a charge of driving to endanger during a hearing yesterday in Salem District Court.
Beverly Patrolman Sean Connolly, who has remained out on medical leave since the Oct. 7 crash, suffered head, neck and back injuries and had several teeth broken. Prosecutor Colleen Cashman said he continues to undergo neurological evaluations to assess the extent of his head injury.
Connolly was working a road construction detail that afternoon on Cabot Street when the skies opened up in a downpour. He ducked into his pickup truck to put on his rain gear, according to a police report.
At that same moment, Saldi, driving a 14-wheel, 27,000-pound Kenworth T-800 dump truck for White Trucking of Groveland, stalled at the foot of the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Because the truck was on a grade at the foot of the bridge, Saldi thought he could get it started again, he told police, by putting it in neutral, releasing the brakes, and then, when that wasn't enough, getting out and giving it a good push.
That got the truck rolling — with no one at the wheel. Saldi ran alongside the truck and tried four times to jump in, falling to the ground each time.
The truck continued to roll, going about 20 miles an hour, until it crashed into Connolly's truck, pushing it back 4 to 5 feet, according to a crash report.
Police said at the time that Connolly's pickup actually prevented the dump truck from rolling into the construction area, where there were workers and other officers.
Cashman, the prosecutor, urged Judge Richard Mori to impose a formal finding of guilty and a year of probation, citing the ordeal Patrolman Connolly has gone through since the crash.
Defense lawyer Ronald Weeks, who had asked for a 90-day continuation without a finding, said Saldi "feels terrible about the accident that day."
Weeks said Saldi has held a commercial driver's license for many years and once owned his own truck.
"It's been a traumatic experience for him," Weeks said. "He's a really good citizen."
Weeks also told the judge that insurance has covered Connolly's medical bills.
Mori, who recalled hearing about the accident last fall, ultimately decided to continue the case without a finding for 18 months, with conditions that include paying a $250 assessment to the Head Injury Awareness Fund. If Saldi stays out of trouble during that time, the charge will be dismissed.
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