The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration is among the agencies investigating the death of a police officer at a road construction site in Billerica, Massachusetts.
Billerica Police Sgt. Ian Taylor, 49, was near the intersection of Boston Road (Route 3A) and Pollard Road on April 26 directing a tractor trailer through a construction zone when he was struck by an excavator, according to Chief Roy Frost.
During a press conference, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said Taylor was transported to Lahey Clinic but did not survive. The investigation by OSHA, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, Billerica police, and Massachusetts State Police is in its early stages.
A state police accident reconstruction team was brought in to help determine what happened. Multiple witnesses have indicated that Taylor was assisting the tractor trailer through the scene when the excavator struck him.
“Everyone involved has been fully cooperative,” Ryan said. Frost and other officers in the department were emotional at the press conference and again Sunday during a vigil in the courtyard of Billerica Memorial High School.
Investigation into the death of Sgt. Ian Taylor of the Billerica Police Department is being conducted by OSHA, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, Billerica police, and Massachusetts State Police.Billerica Police Department
“We were lucky to grab him and have him work with us,” Frost said.
The ongoing reconstruction of Boston Road is a multi-year project intended to improve vehicular and pedestrian safety and traffic operations. J. Tropeano Inc. of North Andover is the general contractor on the project, which is slated for completion in 2026.
According to preliminary reports from Ryan and Chief Frost, a crew from N. Granese & Sons out of Salem was working on the installation of water lines with a Komatsu excavator at the time of the incident.
N. Granese & Sons has been cited by OSHA for not providing adequate cave-in protection for workers in trenches – with a penalty of $4,800 for an inspection in 2021 and a $4,000 penalty for an inspection in 2019, according to OSHA online records.
“In the days and weeks ahead, we'll have a determination with more specificity as to what took place,” Ryan said.
