June 16, 2006
AFTER A NIGHT
SHIFT, TROOPER DIES IN CRASH
Author: Mac Daniel, Globe Staff, Boston Globe, The (MA)
State Trooper
Paul F. Barry worked night details so he could be home for breakfast
with his seven children all under 11 years old, including triplets
and a set of twins or tend to his youngest, Elizabeth, who is
approaching her first birthday, neighbors said yesterday.
Yesterday morning around 4:45 a.m., the 39-year-old, six-year
veteran was headed home to do just that after working an all-night
traffic detail on the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge.
But traveling
north on Interstate 495, near Route 1A in Wrentham, Barry's marked
cruiser drifted into the breakdown lane and sideswiped an unoccupied
dump truck, parked with its lights off in the breakdown lane.
The impact, which occurred before dawn, shattered the cruiser and
sent both vehicles into the road, witnesses said.
After a passing motorist called for help, Barry was taken to Milford
Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
"He was all about family," said Trooper Paul Fernandes, who worked
with Barry for 11 months in the State Police fleet department at
Fort Devens. "He was a great guy."
Family members declined to comment yesterday.
State Police continued to investigate the accident yesterday and
would say little. State Police said they don't know if Barry fell
asleep behind the wheel.
"It could be any number of reasons why this happened," said
Lieutenant Eric Anderson, who declined to comment on how many hours
Barry had worked prior to the accident.
The unoccupied truck involved in the accident had no license plates.
Anderson said a note was found on the 1995 GMC six-wheeled dump
truck, but declined to provide its details or identify the owner of
the vehicle.
Anderson said the truck was not seen on the side of the road earlier
in the evening, based on reports from passing state troopers.
Barry recently transferred to the State Police fleet section at Fort
Devens, where he oversaw driver training and the distribution of
cruisers.
He had previously worked in the Holden barracks, officials said.
His colleagues said they were devastated by his death. Four State
Police cruisers yesterday blocked the entrance to the road connected
to Barry's cul-de-sac in Franklin to protect the Barry family from
the news media. The troopers, who said they were friends of Barry,
declined comment.
"On behalf of the department, we extend our deepest sympathies to
the Barry family," said Massachusetts State Police Colonel Mark
Delaney.
Delaney's first full day on the job was marred by the accident,
after being sworn in Wednesday as head of the Massachusetts State
Police.
Five of the Barry children attend John F. Kennedy Elementary School
in Franklin, a close-knit school at which grief counselors were on
hand to console teachers, students, and their parents.
"The Barrys have just been tremendous parents," said David A.
Crisafulli, superintendent of schools in Franklin. "We just can't
even express the grief at this particular point. . . . They've
touched everybody."
Michael J. Switzer, 45, lives across the street from the Barrys, and
remembered the trooper yesterday as broad-shouldered, gregarious,
and unfazed by life's daily foibles.
"Nothing ever bothered him," he said. "A tree could fall on the
house, and he would say: `Whatever, we'll deal with it. At least no
one was hurt.' "
The family's backyard pool was a magnet for the local children, and
on hot summer weekends Barry would often tell neighbors to go
swimming even if the family wasn't at home.
Barry's wife, Maryellen, is a stay-at-home mom, and both she and her
husband were heavily involved in their children's lives, from school
to setting up for local youth soccer, baseball, or basketball games.
When Switzer's house alarm went off while the family was away, Barry
went next door "probably with his pistol in hand," said Switzer and
checked things out.
And when Switzer's oldest daughter got her learner's permit, Barry
offered up his family car, which no one was using.
The Barry family moved to Franklin from Dorchester two years ago,
and Barry's parents were frequent visitors, often staying overnight.
Neighbors said Barry was quite close to his father, with the two
often working together around the house.
"I cut down a lot of trees on my property, and Paul used to joke
that he was a certified emergency responder," Switzer said.
"If I see a problem over there, I'll be right over," he recalled
Barry saying. "Just yell."
State Police said a fund has been set up at the Bank of America
branch at 80 Franklin Village Drive to benefit
the Barry children.
Mac Daniel can be reached at
June 16, 2006
Ex-Southborough fire chief says he warned police about truck
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WRENTHAM, Mass.—
State police were warned that a disabled dump truck in a highway
breakdown lane was a potential danger several hours before a trooper
crashed his cruiser into the truck and died, a retired fire chief
said.
Peter Phaneuf, fire chief in Southborough
for eight years, said he was driving with his wife north on
Interstate 495 in Wrentham at about 10 p.m. Wednesday when he
spotted the dump truck, which had no reflectors.
"It was in an extremely dark area ... approximately a half-mile
south of Exit 15. The truck was on the edge of the lane," Phaneuf
said. "It appeared to be a dangerous spot."
He said he first dialed 911 on his cell phone to report it to
police, but after losing the connection, he dialed 77, which also
connects callers to authorities.
The dispatcher told him police would take care of it, Phaneuf said.
Trooper Paul F. Barry, 39, a six-year member of the force, was in
his cruiser around 4:45 a.m. Thursday when it struck the truck.
Barry, the father of seven children, was heading home to Franklin
after working an all-night traffic detail in Boston.
Lt. Eric Anderson, a state police spokesman, told The MetroWest
Daily News of Framingham that the agency would have no comment
because the accident is still being investigated.
Phaneuf said he called 77 again yesterday to find out where his call
was routed, and police told him it was to the state police barracks
in Foxborough. He asked about the removal of the truck and was told,
under state law, police have 24 hours to remove disabled vehicles,
he said.