WMass trooper injured in hit-and-run crash while on duty ‘in good spirits'
SPRINGFIELD — A Massachusetts state trooper injured in an hit-and-run collision overnight suffered serious injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
'I can tell you he's in good spirits,' State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble told reporters on Tuesday. 'He's in for a long recovery.'
The trooper, who has not yet been identified, had pulled over a tractor-trailer early Tuesday morning and was struck by another motorist on the side of the Massachusetts Turnpike near the Chicopee exit, Noble said.
'He was on the way home after finishing his shift, but state troopers are never off-duty while they're in a marked cruiser,' Noble said, standing outside Baystate Medical Center with some of the clinicians who treated the injured trooper.
The driver took off from the crash scene, according to law enforcement officials.
'This was a hit-and-run. The operator did not remain at the scene,' Noble said.
The driver was arrested around noon Tuesday, but they have yet to be identified. An arraignment has been scheduled in Chicopee District Court on Wednesday morning.
The injured trooper had been with the state police for less than a year, but had been a member of law enforcement for a decade.
Noble declined to discuss the charges the driver may face, nor would he go into more detail about the trooper's injuries.
The incident happened just after 2:20 a.m., close to Exit 51 on the westbound side of Interstate 90, state police said earlier on Tuesday.
The crash is under investigation by Massachusetts State Police and troopers assigned to the Hampden County District Attorney's Office.
Anyone with information on the crash is urged to call 413-505-5993 to speak with state police detectives with the district attorney's office.
Noble said the crash that injured the trooper puts a fine point on the importance of careful driving. He also emphasized the importance of the 'Move Over' law in this state, requiring drivers to move over a lane if they spot first responders pulled over on the side of the road.
'We want to ensure that you drive in a safe manner and drive in a sober manner,' Noble said.
MassLive's Irene Rotondo contributed to this report.
Springfield grants $3.5M for 19 preservation projects, rejects 1 housing request
Amherst Cinema presents free short film festival in celebration of Juneteenth
Springfield, Longmeadow PDs warn of scams with officers demanding Bitcoin, other payments
400 hungry WMass families fed with donation effort by Price Rite, partners
Read the original article on MassLive.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
14 hours ago
Man whose parents were kidnapped after $245M Bitcoin theft has pleaded guilty to federal charges
A Connecticut man whose parents were kidnapped after he took part in a $245 million Bitcoin theft has pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges and has agreed to testify against his co-defendants, according to court documents that were unsealed this week. Veer Chetal, 19, from Danbury, Connecticut, was one of three men charged with stealing 4,100 Bitcoins from a victim in Washington, D.C., in an elaborate online scam last August. The trio lived large after the heist, spending millions of dollars on cars, jewelry, rental mansions and nightclub parties, prosecutors say. A week after the theft, Chetal's parents were assaulted and kidnapped briefly in Danbury in a failed ransom plot aimed at Chetal, who the attackers believed had a large amount of cryptocurrency, authorities said. Chetal's criminal case was unsealed on Monday in federal court in Washington, revealing his guilty pleas in November and his agreement to cooperate with federal authorities investigating the Bitcoin theft. It also revealed new allegations that he was involved in about 50 similar thefts that raked in another $3 million between November 2023 and September 2024. Another man charged in the Bitcoin theft, Malone Lam, was also among 13 people indicted by a federal grand jury in May in an alleged online racketeering conspiracy involving cryptocurrency thefts across the U.S. and overseas that netted more than $260 million, including the $245 million Bitcoin theft. Chetal is facing 19 to 24 years in prison, a fine between $50,000 and $500,000 and restitution to the victim that has yet to be determined, according federal sentencing guidelines and his plea agreement. His lawyer, David Weinstein, declined to comment, saying Chetal's case is still pending. In September, federal agents with a search warrant raided Chetal's apartment in Brunswick, New Jersey, and his parents' home in Danbury in connection with the $245 million Bitcoin heist. Authorities said they found more than $500,000 in cash, expensive jewelry and watches and high-end clothing. Federal agents also said Chetal had $39 million worth of cryptocurrency that he turned over to investigators. Authorities alleged Chetal, Lam and Jeandiel Serrano were involved in online 'social engineering' attacks against cryptocurrency holders. Lam would send victims alerts about unauthorized attempts to access their crypto accounts, while the others would call the victims posing as representatives from well-known companies like Google and Yahoo and gain access to their accounts, authorities said. Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers for Lam and Serrano on Friday. A week after the theft, six Florida men were accused of kidnapping Chetal's parents in broad daylight in Danbury. One of them crashed a car into the parents' Lamborghini, while others pulled up in a van, police said. The attackers forced the couple out of their vehicle, beat them, put them in the van and tied them up, police said. The plot was foiled, and the attackers were arrested quickly because there were eyewitnesses who immediately called police, and an off-duty FBI agent happened to be driving by at the time of the kidnapping, authorities said. Federal agents said a seventh man who was later arrested in connection with the kidnapping had previously gotten into a dispute with Chetal that turned physical at a Miami nightclub. The attack on the couple is part of an increasing trend worldwide in robbers using violence to steal cryptocurrency. Chetal, who was attending Rutgers University in New Jersey at the time of the $245 million theft and later withdrew, was born in India and came to the U.S. with his family when he was 4 years old in 2010, according to court documents. His father was granted a foreign worker's visa, and his wife and children obtained related dependent visas. Federal authorities said Chetal could face deportation as a result of the criminal case. Authorities say Chetal's father lost his job at Morgan Stanley because of the kidnapping and his son's connection to it. Chetal was initially released from federal custody on his own recognizance. But a judge ordered him detained until trial earlier this year after federal prosecutors said they discovered Chetal was involved in another crypto theft worth $2 million in October that he didn't tell them about, after he had begun cooperating with federal authorities.
a day ago
Man whose parents were kidnapped after $245M Bitcoin theft pleads guilty to charges
A Connecticut man whose parents were kidnapped after he took part in a $245 million Bitcoin theft has pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges and has agreed to testify against his co-defendants, according to court documents that were unsealed this week. Veer Chetal, 19, from Danbury, Connecticut, was one of three men charged with stealing 4,100 Bitcoins from a victim in Washington, D.C., in an elaborate online scam last August. The trio lived large after the heist, spending millions of dollars on cars, jewelry, rental mansions and nightclub parties, prosecutors say. A week after the theft, Chetal's parents were assaulted and kidnapped briefly in Danbury in a failed ransom plot aimed at Chetal, who the attackers believed had a large amount of cryptocurrency, authorities said. Chetal's criminal case was unsealed on Monday in federal court in Washington, revealing his guilty pleas in November and his agreement to cooperate with federal authorities investigating the Bitcoin theft. It also revealed new allegations that he was involved in about 50 similar thefts that raked in another $3 million between November 2023 and September 2024. Another man charged in the Bitcoin theft, Malone Lam, was also among 13 people indicted by a federal grand jury in May in an alleged online racketeering conspiracy involving cryptocurrency thefts across the U.S. and overseas that netted more than $260 million, including the $245 million Bitcoin theft. Chetal is facing 19 to 24 years in prison, a fine between $50,000 and $500,000 and restitution to the victim that has yet to be determined, according federal sentencing guidelines and his plea agreement. His lawyer, David Weinstein, declined to comment, saying Chetal's case is still pending. In September, federal agents with a search warrant raided Chetal's apartment in Brunswick, New Jersey, and his parents' home in Danbury in connection with the $245 million Bitcoin heist. Authorities said they found more than $500,000 in cash, expensive jewelry and watches and high-end clothing. Federal agents also said Chetal had $39 million worth of cryptocurrency that he turned over to investigators. Authorities alleged Chetal, Lam and Jeandiel Serrano were involved in online 'social engineering' attacks against cryptocurrency holders. Lam would send victims alerts about unauthorized attempts to access their crypto accounts, while the others would call the victims posing as representatives from well-known companies like Google and Yahoo and gain access to their accounts, authorities said. Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers for Lam and Serrano on Friday. A week after the theft, six Florida men were accused of kidnapping Chetal's parents in broad daylight in Danbury. One of them crashed a car into the parents' Lamborghini, while others pulled up in a van, police said. The attackers forced the couple out of their vehicle, beat them, put them in the van and tied them up, police said. The plot was foiled, and the attackers were arrested quickly because there were eyewitnesses who immediately called police, and an off-duty FBI agent happened to be driving by at the time of the kidnapping, authorities said. Federal agents said a seventh man who was later arrested in connection with the kidnapping had previously gotten into a dispute with Chetal that turned physical at a Miami nightclub. The attack on the couple is part of an increasing trend worldwide in robbers using violence to steal cryptocurrency. Chetal, who was attending Rutgers University in New Jersey at the time of the $245 million theft and later withdrew, was born in India and came to the U.S. with his family when he was 4 years old in 2010, according to court documents. His father was granted a foreign worker's visa, and his wife and children obtained related dependent visas. Federal authorities said Chetal could face deportation as a result of the criminal case. Authorities say Chetal's father lost his job at Morgan Stanley because of the kidnapping and his son's connection to it. Chetal was initially released from federal custody on his own recognizance. But a judge ordered him detained until trial earlier this year after federal prosecutors said they discovered Chetal was involved in another crypto theft worth $2 million in October that he didn't tell them about, after he had begun cooperating with federal authorities.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Man whose parents were kidnapped after $245M Bitcoin theft has pleaded guilty to federal charges
A Connecticut man whose parents were kidnapped after he took part in a $245 million Bitcoin theft has pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges and has agreed to testify against his co-defendants, according to court documents that were unsealed this week. Veer Chetal, 19, from Danbury, Connecticut, was one of three men charged with stealing 4,100 Bitcoins from a victim in Washington, D.C., in an elaborate online scam last August. The trio lived large after the heist, spending millions of dollars on cars, jewelry, rental mansions and nightclub parties, prosecutors say. A week after the theft, Chetal's parents were assaulted and kidnapped briefly in Danbury in a failed ransom plot aimed at Chetal, who the attackers believed had a large amount of cryptocurrency, authorities said. Chetal's criminal case was unsealed on Monday in federal court in Washington, revealing his guilty pleas in November and his agreement to cooperate with federal authorities investigating the Bitcoin theft. It also revealed new allegations that he was involved in about 50 similar thefts that raked in another $3 million between November 2023 and September 2024. Another man charged in the Bitcoin theft, Malone Lam, was also among 13 people indicted by a federal grand jury in May in an alleged online racketeering conspiracy involving cryptocurrency thefts across the U.S. and overseas that netted more than $260 million, including the $245 million Bitcoin theft. Chetal is facing 19 to 24 years in prison, a fine between $50,000 and $500,000 and restitution to the victim that has yet to be determined, according federal sentencing guidelines and his plea agreement. His lawyer, David Weinstein, declined to comment, saying Chetal's case is still pending. In September, federal agents with a search warrant raided Chetal's apartment in Brunswick, New Jersey, and his parents' home in Danbury in connection with the $245 million Bitcoin heist. Authorities said they found more than $500,000 in cash, expensive jewelry and watches and high-end clothing. Federal agents also said Chetal had $39 million worth of cryptocurrency that he turned over to investigators. Authorities alleged Chetal, Lam and Jeandiel Serrano were involved in online 'social engineering' attacks against cryptocurrency holders. Lam would send victims alerts about unauthorized attempts to access their crypto accounts, while the others would call the victims posing as representatives from well-known companies like Google and Yahoo and gain access to their accounts, authorities said. Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers for Lam and Serrano on Friday. A week after the theft, six Florida men were accused of kidnapping Chetal's parents in broad daylight in Danbury. One of them crashed a car into the parents' Lamborghini, while others pulled up in a van, police said. The attackers forced the couple out of their vehicle, beat them, put them in the van and tied them up, police said. The plot was foiled, and the attackers were arrested quickly because there were eyewitnesses who immediately called police, and an off-duty FBI agent happened to be driving by at the time of the kidnapping, authorities said. Federal agents said a seventh man who was later arrested in connection with the kidnapping had previously gotten into a dispute with Chetal that turned physical at a Miami nightclub. The attack on the couple is part of an increasing trend worldwide in robbers using violence to steal cryptocurrency. Chetal, who was attending Rutgers University in New Jersey at the time of the $245 million theft and later withdrew, was born in India and came to the U.S. with his family when he was 4 years old in 2010, according to court documents. His father was granted a foreign worker's visa, and his wife and children obtained related dependent visas. Federal authorities said Chetal could face deportation as a result of the criminal case. Authorities say Chetal's father lost his job at Morgan Stanley because of the kidnapping and his son's connection to it. Chetal was initially released from federal custody on his own recognizance. But a judge ordered him detained until trial earlier this year after federal prosecutors said they discovered Chetal was involved in another crypto theft worth $2 million in October that he didn't tell them about, after he had begun cooperating with federal authorities. Dave Collins, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
