During the past week, police made three motor vehicle stops, one of which resulted in a verbal warning and two in written warnings or citations. Officers helped two motorists with disabled vehicles and one who was locked out of a vehicle. They also made three well-being checks and responded to five medical emergencies. Four of the emergency calls led to people being taken to area hospitals, three with Advanced Life Support services on board. There were also four false burglar alarms.
Tuesday, Sept. 3
At 9:54 a.m. police were called to a collision between a car and a bicycle on Prospect Hill Road. The ambulance squad took the bicyclist to a hospital with Advanced Life Support in attendance, but the injured man was released within a day and is expected to make a full recovery, police said. Ayer police called at 7:08 p.m. to report a motorcyclist driving recklessly toward Harvard, but there was not enough information to locate the person. At 8:33 p.m. an officer stopped a car for speeding near the intersection of Bolton Road and Mass. Ave. Sherilyn Lee Starr, 33, of Ayer, received a summons for driving an uninsured, unregistered vehicle as well as speeding.
Wednesday, Sept. 4
At 11:16 a.m. an officer found four large piles of brush and branches that had been illegally dumped at the back of Bellevue Cemetery on Still River Road. The brush piles were so large that the DPW had to rent a chipper to dispose of them. A few minutes later, at 11:36 a.m., an officer found that the electronic speed sign on Bolton Road had been vandalized, its wires cut. A Warren Avenue resident called at 4:31 p.m. to report a large branch in the road; an officer pushed it to the side and asked the DPW to remove it. Another Warren Avenue resident called about the fallen branch at 6:07 p.m. And, at 6:46 p.m., someone called to say that a horse was loose in the Bolton Road area.
Thursday, Sept. 5
At 7:10 a.m. a caller reported that a car had struck and killed a small deer on Warren Avenue; police referred the matter to the DPW to remove it.
Friday, Sept. 6
At 8:01 p.m. state police alerted Harvard officers that a truck had hit the median rail on Route 2 and then taken the Ayer Road exit. Near the Hillside Garage, state police arrested the driver, a man from Templeton, for leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in property damage; the vehicle was towed. At 11:27 p.m. a caller told police that an 18-wheeler had been parked at the elementary school with its engine idling for some time; no further information was available.
Saturday, Sept. 7
At 8:48 a.m. a person came to the Public Safety Building and said a car had struck a road sign on East Bare Hill Road, but when an officer and a DPW employee checked the sign, they found no damage. At 11:08 a.m., for traffic safety, officers escorted a group of motorcyclists through town. An Old Littleton Road resident called 911 at 3:01 p.m. to say a Chevy pickup had struck the traffic cones by his driveway.
Sunday, Sept. 8
At 12:50 a.m. someone reported a gray Subaru parked at the town beach; an officer checked and found no one in the area.
Monday, Sept. 9
At 2:11 a.m. someone called to say they had left their cell phone in the car of a ride service and then tracked the phone to the driver’s home in Harvard; police helped the phone owner but said the person should have called police sooner, rather than arriving at the driver’s house in the middle of the night. At 8:30 a.m. a Simon Atherton Row resident reported that two very young children had walked away from the house and were missing; after 13 nerve-wracking minutes, police found the two little runaways on Myrick Lane, just ready to cross Ayer Road.
The police log is written by a Harvard Press reporter based on information gleaned from daily police logs and interviews with police staff. Decisions to publish or withhold names of people arrested is based on our need to balance the privacy of individuals with our responsibility to report news of significance and public safety.
