GREENFIELD — Greenfield Police Sgt. James Rode, 49, will be in court next week for a motion before Judge Lynn Connly.
Rode was arraigned in July 2018 on charges of negligent motor vehicle homicide and speeding in connection with an October 2017 fatal crash on High Street. At the arraignment, new court filings were made available regarding the Massachusetts State Police investigation into the crash, which caused the death of James Arcellana, 29, of Hinsdale, N.H.
The motion, to be heard on Tuesday, is to suppress the “defendant’s statement, certain autopsy photographs and (an officer’s) estimated speed.” Following the decision on the motion to suppress, there will be a trial readiness meeting Aug. 15 and a jury trial is scheduled Sept. 9, according to court documents.
Motor vehicle homicide is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 2½ years in prison and carries a 15-year loss of a driver’s license if convicted.
According to the Massachusetts State Police report filed by Trooper Joseph Ballou, Rode was responding to a call of an erratic operator Oct. 1, 2017 in a black Ford Explorer “low profile” police cruiser, “meaning it was marked with department lettering, but no overhead lightbar” when the crash occurred.
Rode was driving down High Street, while Arcellana was traveling westbound on Sanderson Street in his 2010 Subaru Impreza toward the intersection of High Street.
“When Sgt. Rode saw Arcellana’s vehicle crossing the intersection, he applied his cruiser’s brakes and swerved left in an attempt to avoid a crash,” according to the police report. “The cruiser struck the rear passenger side of Arcellana’s vehicle, causing fatal injuries to Arcellana and serious but survivable injuries to his front-seat passenger.”
According to the report, neither Rode not Arcellana was wearing a seat belt. Phone records also showed that neither operator was using his cellphone at the time of the crash.
Reach Melina Bourdeau at mbourdeau@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263.