Ipswich man pleads not guilty in fatal motorcycle crash Tuesday in Marstons Mills

BARNSTABLE— An Ipswich man pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Barnstable District Court to charges in connection with the Tuesday crash in Marstons Mills that killed an 18-year-old motorcyclist.

Family members of the motorcyclist, Sam Needam of Centerville, gathered outside the courthouse on Wednesday. Needam's sister held a photograph of her brother, a senior portrait from his recent graduation from Barnstable High School.

“He was kind, above all else he was a kind person,” Emma Needham said. “He loved his family and his friends, and he was really into motorcycles. He was a great driver, he was probably just going for a drive.”

Previous coverage: Arrest made after motorcyclist killed in Marstons Mills crash

Ipswich man arraigned on charges related to Tuesday's crash

On Wednesday, Richard Collins, 71, of Ipswich, was arraigned at the courthouse on five counts including homicide while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of personal injury or death and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

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Collins’ bail was set at $10,000 cash or $100,000 bond on the condition that he remain alcohol-free via a secure continuous alcohol monitor device; that he does not drive in Massachusetts; and that he does not leave the state until the resolution of the trial.

Collins was to be held without bail at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility until fitted with a monitoring device.

Collins elected to appoint his own counsel. A pre-trial hearing was set for Sept. 20 at Barnstable District Court.

Bystanders attempted to help the motorcyclist after the crash on Route 28

According to the police report, at 11:53 a.m. on Tuesday, Barnstable police were called to the Stop & Shop grocery store plaza at 3900 Falmouth Road in Marstons Mills for a crash involving a motorcycle.

Officers saw individuals at the scene of the crash performing CPR on a person lying in Route 28’s westbound lane. The person on the ground was later identified as Sam Needham.

Several witnesses told police they saw a black truck run a red light while making a left turn into the plaza, cutting in front of the motorcycle and causing it to crash, according to the police report.

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Witnesses told officers they saw the man driving the black truck get out of the vehicle, look at the crash, then return to his truck and drive away without identifying himself to anyone at the scene.

Needham was taken to Cape Cod Hospital by the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire Department where he was pronounced dead.

Investigation began for a person driving a black Chevy pickup, according to the police report

Officers identified the vehicle that cut in front of the motorcycle — a black Chevy pickup truck — from photos provided by witnesses. Officers used the license plate number in the pictures to find the owner of the truck. The owner of the truck was later identified as Collins.

Officers located Collins Tuesday at an address in Marstons Mills. At that address, police said they found Collins smelling of alcohol, unsteady on his feet and slow to answer questions, according to the report.

Collins told officers he owned the truck in the driveway, which matched the description given by witnesses at the motorcycle crash, according to the police report.

Collins said he had driven the truck that day to a Cotuit beach, according to the report. He told police officers he drove by the Stop & Shop plaza earlier in the day, but did not turn into the plaza, according to the report.

Collins told officers he had not consumed any alcoholic beverages that day, but later amended that to say he drank after he got home from the crash, according to the police report.

Police arrested him at the Marstons Mills address, and brought him to the police station where a breathalyzer test showed a blood alcohol level of 0.19%, according to the police report.

Family and friends of Sam Needham listened in the courthouse to the arraignment proceedings

Family and friends of Sam Needham sat in the courtroom during the arraignment. They held up framed photographs of Needham.

“He had so many aspirations and dreams. He was going to college,” Jennifer Hinkley Needham, Sam Needham’s mother said outside the courthouse. “You killed my son. My life is over."

The Needham family is cared for deeply in the community, said Ann Mach-Dixon, an English teacher at Barnstable High School, who stood with the Needham family at the courthouse.

"They could not be more involved," Mach-Dixon said of the family.

Do not drink and drive, Hinkley Needham added.

“He was a perfect, perfect, perfect boy," she said of her son. "He will be greatly missed.”

Sarah Carlon can be reached at: scarlon@capecodonline.com or on Twitter: @sarcarlon

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Ipswich MA man pleads not guilty to fatal motorcycle crash on Cape Cod