Further investigation of the three-car accident involving two town trucks and a Harvard resident driving a minivan on Monday, Jan. 1, reveals that none of the Department of Public Works employees was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. Police Officer Greg Newman, who responded to the call and wrote up the accident report, did not cite any of the DPW workers for seat-belt violations or any other infraction. The driver of the minivan was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, the report noted. DPW Director Rich Nota said this week that it is his understanding that all DPW employees must wear a seat belt to be in compliance with Massachusetts state law.
According to Police Chief Edward Denmark, Newman made the decision not to issue a moving violation, based on the poor road conditions at the time of the accident, which took place on Still River Road when the driver of the minivan slowed down after sighting a tree limb in the road. The town truck following the minivan clipped the rear end of that vehicle, then got hit by the next truck behind. The DPW workers had been out all night plowing roads, and were coming back from a meal break at the time of the accident.
Denmark said that Newman also made the decision not to issue a citation for the seat belt infraction after determining that the vehicles could be classified as commercial trucks over 18,000 gross vehicle weight (GVW), which are exempt from seat belt laws. Newman also believed that the DPW employees met the criteria of “emergency personnel” as defined by Massachusetts state law, said Denmark.
Denmark said that, since the accident, he has done further research and he does not believe that DPW employees meet the criteria of emergency personnel as specified in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90 Section 13A. Further, he believes that at least one of the vehicles does not meet the 18,000 GVW criteria that would classify it as a commercial truck.
Denmark defended Newman’s decision to write the report as he did, however. Officers have the discretion to make decisions like these at the scene of an accident, Denmark said, and he has a personal policy of never second-guessing an officer’s decision-making in retrospect.
“It’s beyond my scope to try to influence an officer’s use of discretion as long as he stays within policy and within the law,” he said. “The responding officer has the best information regarding any kind of a scene, whether it’s a crime scene or an accident or whatever.”
Denmark realizes that the incident may raise questions for townspeople, however. “Sometimes when there are accidents involving other police officers or town vehicles and a citation isn’t written, people get the impression that ‘the fix is on,’” he said, adding that Newman felt he took the best course of action for all parties involved.
“To me this is more of an administrative issue to be taken care of within the policies and the regulations of the DPW,” Denmark said.
In a phone interview this week, Nota emphasized the ongoing nature of the investigation, which is currently also under investigation by Metroguard, the town’s insurance company. While the four men injured were treated at Nashoba Valley Medical Center, all were released the same day.
Both trucks are out of commission for the time being, Nota said, adding that at least one of them is a total loss. He is confident that this will not create a problem for the town, however.
“We’re making do with what we have,” he said. “We’re using some other equipment that we don’t traditionally use.”
Nota was unsure what the insurance implications might be in light of the fact that none of the employees was wearing a seat belt when the accident occurred.
“I haven’t seen the final report,” he said.
Town Administrator Tim Bragan is also unsure if there will be a financial penalty for the town over and above the ordinary deductible and the inevitable raising of insurance premiums, he said in a phone interview Tuesday. Right now the insurance company is investigating whether DPW employees fall into the category of either emergency personnel or commercial truck drivers, and are therefore exempt from the state seat belt law.
“I’m just grateful that the guys were able to come back to work and that they were released as quickly as they were,” Bragan said. “I’m grateful their injuries weren’t as severe as they could have been.”
