Police locate driver who allegedly drove over Srybny Farms crops

Mike LaBella, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·2 min read
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Jul. 21—HAVERHILL — Police say they identified an 85-year-old man from out of town who, on July 3, allegedly drove his vehicle across Srybny Farms on Hilldale Avenue destroying thousands of dollars in crops.

Police Deputy Stephen Doherty said no criminal charges will be brought against the man as the case is a civil matter between him and the farm owner.

"The farm's cameras gave us a description of the vehicle which allowed us to track it on city cameras," Doherty said. "We were able to identify the license plate number based on city camera footage."

Doherty said investigators spoke to the driver, who admitted to driving onto the property.

Peter Bucci, whose wife's family operates the farm, said camera footage from the Srybny Farms property captured a Subaru plowing through fields on the farm early that Sunday afternoon, destroying crops along the way.

Srybny Farms, family owned since 1917, was closed for the holiday weekend.

Bucci said the damages involved a variety of crops that would have been harvested in late July, including zucchini, squash, beans and sunflowers.

"I was happy the driver didn't take a right and go into the corn, which would have been very damaging as it will be ready in two or three weeks," Bucci said this week. "Nothing like this has ever happened here although people have broken in to steal corn and honey.

"Since this is a civil matter we're probably going the insurance route," Bucci added. "The driver came here to shop last Saturday although police had told him to stay away. He bought a small plant and was looking at the field."

Bucci said that he and his wife first saw the Subaru on video in the parking lot and what appeared to be a "senior citizen" entering the vehicle.

Soon after, the Subaru drove along the farm stand and took off onto the tractor path dirt road, bulldozing into fields filled with an array of vegetables and flowers, Bucci said.

"They were moving along pretty good ... It was not on smooth grounds by any means, there was dust flying and they must've gotten stuck twice because of the tire marks," Bucci said.

The Subaru continued down the farm's perimeter before exiting the property and driving away, ending its "wild ride," Bucci said.

After inspecting the camera footage, Bucci said the incident seemed to have lasted no longer than three minutes while covering about 100 yards of distance.

Reporter Olivia LeDuc contributed to this story.