Man fleeing fatal hit-and-run pulls knife on officer — then steals police car, cops say
A deadly hit-and-run prompted a search for the driver who escaped on foot — and by stolen police car, Massachusetts officials said.
After attempting to make a U-turn and hitting another car in Waltham, a man fatally rammed into a police officer and electric grid worker less than a mile away, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a Dec. 6 news conference. Then, the suspect fled the scene before being arrested by police officers, Ryan said.
Peter Simon, 54, of New Hampshire, was charged with two counts of manslaughter and armed robbery, according to a Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office Dec. 6 news release.
Ryan called it a “tremendous” loss for the victims’ families, in addition to the Waltham Police Department and the larger Waltham community.
Simon was driving his pickup truck when he pulled over onto a shoulder on the side of the road at about 4 p.m. Dec. 6, Ryan said. He then “shot back” across the road to make a U-turn, Ryan said, and he smashed into a Jeep “that was originally behind him.”
Instead of stopping, Simon continued down the road until he struck an on-duty police officer at a National Grid work site a quarter mile from where he hit the Jeep, Ryan said. Three grid workers were also hit during the crash, she said.
The police officer, 58-year-old Paul Tracey, and a 36-year-old National Grid worker were killed in the crash, Ryan said. The two other workers were injured, with one having to be sent to the hospital, she said.
Tracey was a 28-year veteran at Waltham Police Department, Chief Kevin O’Connell said at the news conference. During his time as an officer, O’Connell said Tracey “served this great city with distinction” and “always looked out for the underdog.”
After hitting the group at the electric grid, Simon continued to drive and strike two other vehicles before he got out of his truck and ran away, Ryan said.
While running by a nearby neighborhood, Simon pulled a knife on a police officer who was searching for him, Ryan said, and he stole the officer’s cruiser to make his getaway.
He crashed the police car and attempted to escape by running, but he was stopped by an officer and arrested, Ryan said in the news conference.
The district attorney’s office and the Waltham Police Department are “actively investigating” the incident, Ryan said, as there are “lots of pieces” to look into.
Two prosecutors were assigned to the case — Christopher Tarrant and Michael Klunder, according to the district attorney’s office. Simon was arraigned in Waltham District Court Dec. 7.
Waltham is about 15 miles west of Boston.
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