A plea of “not guilty” was entered for Laurence F. Hayes, 81, of Reading during his arraignment in Gloucester District Court on Tuesday afternoon. He is accused of motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation in the wrong-way crash June 30 that injured five people and led to death of 18-year-old Christopher Dailey of Gloucester.
The hearing took about five minutes.
Hayes, wearing a blue shirt and dark-rimmed glasses, sat at a table with his attorney, Robert Sheketoff of Boston.
After a short sidebar among attorneys, including Essex County Assistant District Patrick Collins, Judge Michael A. Patten said a plea of “not guilty” would be entered on Hayes’ behalf on charges of motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation and civil motor-vehicle infractions of restricted way wrong way operation and failure to obey traffic signs.
The crash took place on Route 128 southbound on the A. Piatt Andrew Bridge around 1:40 a.m. on June 30.
Hayes agreed to conditions of his being released on personal recognizance including home confinement, the wearing of a GPS monitoring device and an order not to drive.
Patten asked if a request for an immediate threat to public safety license suspension request had been filed with the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and learned Hayes’ license had been suspended.
Sheketoff asked if Hayes could be allowed to leave home confinement for medical appointments, attorney visits and to attend church on Sunday, and the judge agreed.
If convicted of the charge of motor vehicle homicide, Hayes faces up to 2 1/2 years in jail, up to 5 years in state prison or up to a $3,000 fine.
A pretrial hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 23.
“We are deeply sorry for the families involved,” Sheketoff said outside the courtroom.
The crash has shaken this tight-knit community.
Dailey, who graduated June 8 from Gloucester High and wore No. 18 for the school’s Fishermen varsity hockey team, died on the Fourth of July from injuries he sustained in crash. He was a rear-seat passenger in a Toyota Corolla with three other Gloucester High graduates when police say the car was struck by Hayes’ Honda CR-V heading northbound on the southbound side of Route 128, authorities allege.
Dailey was trapped in the Corolla’s back seat and had to be extricated by Gloucester firefighters. He was flown by medical helicopter to Tufts Medical Center in Boston by MedFlight.
Report sheds light on crash
A report by Trooper Sean Stow with the Troop A Detective Unit sheds light on the crash and its aftermath.
At 1:34 a.m., the State Police Danvers Barracks received 911 calls reporting a wrong-way vehicle on Route 128 in Beverly, Wenham and Gloucester heading north in the southbound lanes. The car narrowly missed striking one of those callers. State and local police were notified and dispatched.
At 1:40 a.m., calls came into the Danvers barracks for a two-car wrong-way head-on collision on the southbound side of the A. Piatt Andrew Bridge. Gloucester Police and Fire and emergency medical services and state troopers responded.
The wrong-way vehicle, a 2020 black Honda CR-V, had one occupant, Hayes, and the gray 2011 Toyota it struck had four people in it, the report said. The collision created a large debris field on the bridge. Both vehicles were heavily damaged with their air bags deployed. The Honda wound up facing in the wrong direction, the Toyota on its roof.
Dailey was described as the most seriously injured.
Police identified Hayes as the owner and driver of the Honda and said he was alert and conscious, “but was confused and disoriented.
“He told troopers that he was lost and that he had been attempting to get home to his residence,” the report said.
Hayes was taken to Beverly Hospital where his injuries were assessed, and then flown to Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington for advanced care.
The report said a 19-year-old Gloucester woman was the driver of the heavily damaged Toyota and her front seat passenger was also a 19-year-old Gloucester woman
A second young man, now 19, was sitting in the back on the right rear passenger side.
Both young women were taken to Beverly Hospital with injuries. The driver was later taken by ambulance to Tufts Medical Center for advanced care. The second young man was taken to Addison Gilbert Hospital by his own means.
Troopers spoke with the driver at the hospital.
She said she had been in the left lane of Route 128 southbound coming over the crest of the bridge “when suddenly she saw headlights coming at her and she did not have much time to react. She swerved into the right lane in hopes of avoiding the oncoming vehicle, however, the operator of that vehicle swerved to their left (the same lane) and the oncoming car struck her head-on, at an angle, causing them to flip over.”
Later that day, troopers spoke with a man who saw the wrong-way crash on the news and realized he had seen the wrong-way driver earlier in the morning and had captured it on video on his cellphone. He emailed two time-stamped screenshots and two short videos of a black Honda CR-V to State Police. The man was a passenger when he made the recordings while his friend drove.
“They were able to witness the Honda CR-V traveling northbound in the left travel lane of the southbound side at 1:34 a.m. in Beverly and 1:35 in Wenham,” the report said. They called 911 and eventually lost sight of the Honda. It was estimated the Honda was traveling at 74 mph.
On July 2, troopers spoke with Hayes in the hospital. He told troopers he remembered being in a crash, but he did not know exactly what happened.
He told troopers he had left his home at 10 a.m. to attend church. Then, he drove to Shrewsbury to visit his sister who was in an Alzheimer unit at a facility there.
He left at about 1 or 2 p.m. to go home. He used his onboard GPS to assist him, but somehow became confused and lost, the report indicates. He told troopers he thought he took the Massachusetts Turnpike to Interstate 95 and at one point thought he might have been in New Hampshire.
He continued driving, trying to get home. The report said he was confused about times and locations. He did not stop to eat or get directions. He told troopers he tried to get gas, but his credit card wouldn’t work.
He continued driving for a long time and saw a car coming at him.
“He said he tried to swerve and remembered the impact, and the firefighter removing him from the vehicle.”
The driver told troopers he did not drink alcohol, “and that there were no known medical issues that would affect his ability to drive a motor vehicle.” He told police he took medications for high blood pressure and blood thinners. He said he is a diabetic who takes insulin twice a day. He took a morning dose, but not an evening one, he told troopers.
The report said it was unknown where Hayes got onto Route 128 southbound going the wrong way.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.