EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Merrimack Valley

New police cruiser, van collide at Methuen intersection

By Jill Harmacinski
jharmacinski@eagletribune.com
Published: July 7, 2009

METHUEN — A marked police cruiser collided with a 15-passenger van while the officer was responding to a domestic dispute July 4. No one was seriously hurt, but the brand-new cruiser was extensively damaged, police said yesterday.

The accident occurred at the intersection of Madison and Westland streets at 5:40 p.m. Saturday, police said.

An internal investigation is being conducted, but no charges or citations have been issued yet.

"I should have some results in the next couple of days," police Chief Katherine Lavigne said yesterday.

Officer Matthew Tarness was driving the 2009 Dodge Charger with the lights and siren activated when it collided with a 2005 Chevy van being driven by Paul Destine, 53, of Malden.

Destine had nine passengers in the van, four children and five adults, ranging in age from 10 to mid-50s.

Five people went to area hospitals for treatment. The most serious complaint being a possible broken wrist, police said.

The van passengers all live in the Greater Boston area, said police, who refused to release their identities because of the accident investigation.

Tarness and his passenger, reserve officer David Souther, were treated at Caritas Holy Family Hospital for minor injuries and released later Saturday night, police said.

The officers were responding to a report of two estranged parents fighting about a custody issue in the Madison Street area. Described as a verbal argument, the incident did not result in any arrests or restraining orders, police said.

The van, which was heavily damaged on the right side, was towed from the scene. The cruiser, with just 1,400 miles on the odometer, received heavy damage to the front and rear on the driver's side.

It was unclear yesterday whether the police car would be repaired or replaced.

Police just received the new Chargers, valued at $37,000 each, to replace its aging fleet of Ford Crown Victoria cruisers with more than 200,000 miles.

City officials agreed to spend $283,964 over the next five years to lease six new Dodge Charger cruisers, a Ford Edge crossover vehicle for the chief, and a new van for the animal control officer.

The Chargers are considered frontline vehicles for emergency response by police.

Sgt. Stephen Smith and Lt. Greg Gallant are conducting the accident investigation, police said.

Neither Destine nor Tarness could be reached for comment for this story.

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