The police chief in Canton, Massachusetts, is addressing a case that she's been involved in.
It's not the Karen Read case, the controversial murder trial that has divided the town. The chief actually hit someone with her vehicle while driving in Wrentham back in February. But she's only now making a public statement about it.
Canton Police Chief Helena Rafferty was cited at the time for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
Wrentham police released photos of Rafferty’s town-owned Ford Explorer that was involved in the pedestrian crash back on Feb. 16.
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Rafferty said she was driving home at about 6:30 at night, attempting to make a left-hand turn from South Street onto Creek Street in Wrentham when her lights caught a man in a reflective vest in the crosswalk.
She said she hit the brakes immediately, but still struck 67-year-old Michael Barry, of Wrentham, who was walking with a cane.
Barry was knocked to the ground and suffered a cut to the head. A witness said Rafferty immediately got out of her SUV and assisted Barry until first responders arrived and transported him to the hospital.
Rafferty requested a breathalyzer test, which the police report and photos show registered a 0.0% blood alcohol content. She said she paid the civil citation for failure to yield, and the only damage to the SUV was a scuff mark.
The police chief did not publicly comment on the accident until Monday – more than six weeks after it happened, and after it had been brought to light by others.
Her statement said in part, “I immediately notified Canton officials as to what happened. This was an unfortunate accident. Upon further reflection and considering the amount of attention that has been focused on Canton, I should have issued a statement sooner.”
Rafferty also expressed her continued concern for how the man she hit is doing, but did not provide an update on his recovery.
