A tanker full of gasoline was in the right lane when it slammed into the passenger side of a Massachusetts State Police trooper’s cruiser late Thursday, killing the trooper, 5 Investigates has learned.
Trooper Tamar Bucci, who recently turned 34, was killed in the crash.
According to sources, the cruiser driven by Bucci was changing lanes sharply toward the right shoulder when the tanker slammed into the passenger side of the cruiser just before midnight on the northbound side of Interstate 93 in Stoneham. The blue lights were activated on Bucci’s cruiser at the time.
The force of the impact pushed the cruiser off the roadway.
Massachusetts State Police Department Col. Christopher Mason said Bucci was trying to pull over to help a motorist in a disabled vehicle.
The driver of the tanker, which is owned by P.J. Murphy Transportation Co., was not injured and is cooperating with police, Mason said.
Sources connected to the investigation said this appears to be a tragic crash and the driver of the tanker is devastated.
“The company is working with investigators and are deeply saddened about the loss of the Trooper. Our hearts go out to her family,” said the founder of PJ Murphy Transportation.
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.
Investigators are waiting on toxicology results which are required by law but said the driver of the tanker did not appear to be impaired.
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.
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