The driver facing charges in connection to an accident that killed a Massachusetts State Police trooper earlier this week is awake and talking, but he doesn't remember the crash, a family member said Friday.
David Njuguna is in stable condition in the intensive care unit at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with two broken wrists, leg wounds and a concussion.
"As a family, we are saddened by what happened," his cousin told necn.
When Njuguna's car crashed into state trooper Thomas Clardy's SUV along the side of the Massachusetts Turnpike Wednesday, there were several people who rushed to try to save the trooper.
"I looked down and I seen the mangled up SUV, the trooper's SUV," said Emilio Mendez.
Mendez said the trooper had passed him about five minutes earlier, and when Mendez came upon the crash he grabbed a crow bar from his work truck and tried to help.
"That's when I noticed that the officer was still in the vehicle," said Mendez. "We used the same bar to try to pry open the door so we could you know pull him out."
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Mendez says some nurses who had also stopped began CPR as they waited for the ambulance.
"Given all the effort that they put into trying to save his life, I was hopeful that he was going to make it," said Mendez.
Sadly, of course, Trooper Clardy did not make it.
The family released the following statement:
"The family would like to send a message of condolence and deepest sympathies to the family of the fallen Massachusetts State Trooper. The family is devastated by the death of the dedicated trooper and proud father who lost his life in the effort of making all of us safe. His family is in our prayers."
