STONEHAM, Mass. —
Hundreds of people, Including a number of first responders, saluted a fallen Massachusetts State Police trooper during a procession Saturday afternoon.
The body of State Police Trooper Tamar Bucci was transported from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston to the Barile Funeral Home in Stoneham.
The 10-mile procession started at 3 p.m. at the Medical Examiner’s Office, traveled up Interstate 93 north and finished at the funeral home.
Bucci, 34, died when her cruiser was struck by a tanker truck on I-93 north in Stoneham late Thursday night.
“She was beautiful. She was perfect. She was talented. She always wanted to be a cop,” said family friend Kim Bowen.
“A very vibrant person. Somebody that was so full of life, to be taken so soon, it really hurts,” Col. Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police department, said after speaking with Bucci’s family. “To become a trooper was really a dream come true for her, and she was a person that really wanted the job for the right reasons. She wanted to be a change agent and she really wanted to help propel this agency into the future. So it’s, again, a very big loss for us.”
Late Friday night, dozens of Massachusetts police officers saluted a procession of cruisers that escorted Bucci’s body to the Medical Examiner’s Office from Massachusetts General Hospital.
5 Investigates has learned the tanker was in the right hand lane before the crash. Investigators believe the trooper’s cruiser was struck on the passenger side as she was changing lanes to assist a disabled motorist. The cruiser then slammed into a rock cliff on the side of the highway.
“Late (Thursday) night, on a stretch of road she protected every night on the midnight shift, Trooper Bucci gave her life in the act of trying to help another person in distress. There is no greater act of sacrifice than to give one’s life for another,” Mason said Friday.
The force of the impact pushed the cruiser, which had its blue lights activated, off the roadway. The tanker was carrying approximately 10,000 gallons of gasoline.
Read more: Trooper was changing lanes at time of fatal collision on I-93, sources tell 5 Investigates
Two good Samaritans pulled Bucci from the heavily-damaged cruiser, and a Stoneham Police officer who was in the area performed CPR before Bucci was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“The department is devastated by our loss. We are eternally grateful for the attempts of everyone involved to assist Trooper Bucci and (try) to save her life,” Mason said.
The driver of the tanker, which is owned by P.J. Murphy Transportation Co., was not injured and is cooperating with police, Mason said. The woman who was in the disabled vehicle was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
“The company is working with investigators and are deeply saddened about the loss of the Trooper. Our hearts go out to her family,” Paul Murphy of PJ Murphy Transportation said in a statement.
Bucci was assigned to the Medford Barracks of the Massachusetts State Police Department. Prior to that, she was assigned to the Brookfield barracks after she graduated as a member of the 85th training troop in 2020.
“There is no greater sacrifice than giving your life in service of others. Trooper Tamar Bucci embodied the best of the Massachusetts State Police, and her loss is devastating to her loved ones, the commonwealth and her brothers and sisters in blue,” Gov. Charlie Baker said.
Before joining the Massachusetts State Police, Bucci was employed as a security officer at the Encore Boston Harbor resort casino in Everett and had worked as a personal trainer at Assembly Sports Club.
“We knew when she went into public service she would be helping people just as she did here. And we took pride, having her included in our family,” said Pat Catino of Assembly Sports Club. “Too young, too young and so much to offer the world.”
Bucci is a graduate of Middlesex Community College and a 2006 graduate of Andover High School.
“Andover Public Schools offers our condolences to the family, friends, and her colleagues at the Massachusetts State Police as we mourn the loss of Trooper Tamar Bucci, who gave her life in the line of duty last evening when her cruiser was struck by another vehicle,” the school said in a statement.
A moment of silence was held Friday night the Andover Girls’ Hockey and Girls’ Basketball games.
“We know she’s been a standup trooper for our community, a blessing to have someone like that doing that, and die for the state,” Bill Martin, the Director of Athletics at Andover High School said.
She is survived by her parents, sisters, a step-brother and a step-sister, and the 2,000 members of the Massachusetts State Police.
“In her brief MSP career, she set an example for all of us to follow. Her life was cut too short, too soon,” Mason said. “Her selfless act embodies the mission of the state police: to help those in need — a mission we will now carry on in her memory.”
The investigation into the crash continues.
Bucci is the 22nd member of the Massachusetts State Police to die in the line of duty.
Baker has ordered that the United States of America flag and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts flag be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings in Bucci’s honor.
