GREENFIELD — Six months after a car crash involving Greenfield police that claimed the life of a 29-year-old New Hampshire man, state police continue to investigate the collision.
According to Greenfield Police Chief Robert Haigh, the officer involved in the Oct. 1, 2017, crash is still out of duty due to injury.
“These, unfortunately, are exceptionally, exceptionally time-consuming and slow,” Haigh said of the accident investigation. “I have heard these going a lot longer than six months.”
The crash claimed the life of James Arcellana, 29, of New Hampshire.
The accident occurred just after 8 p.m. on High Street. The collision involved a Greenfield police cruiser and a Subaru driven by Arcellana. An unnamed passenger was also in the Subaru.
Both Arcellana and the passenger were sent to area hospitals. Arcellana was first sent to Baystate Franklin Medical Center, then Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. The passenger was also sent to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.
Arcellana died a few days after the accident.
The unnamed officer involved was also reportedly injured. Northwestern District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Mary Carey said the officer was on duty at the time of the collision. According to Haigh, the officer remains on “injured on duty status” more than six months later.
Haigh said his department is not part of the state police investigation, which is the department’s policy in “tragic accidents” like this one. Haigh said the Greenfield Police Department did open its own internal investigation on the incident, though that is not expected to conclude until after state police complete their investigation.
“We’re just patiently waiting even though it’s an exceptionally difficult situation for everyone involved,” Haigh said.
You can reach Dan Desrochers at:
ddesrochers@recorder.com
413-772-0261, ext. 257