NEWBURY, Mass. (WHDH) – A man believed to have been driving drunk was charged in connection with a wrong-way crash that killed an Endicott College police sergeant on his way home for Thanksgiving.
Keoma Duarte, 40, was arraigned from his hospital bed in the intensive care unit Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors say he was the wrong-way driver under the influence of alcohol who crashed into an SUV early Thursday, killing 49-year-old Endicott Police Sgt. Jeremy Cole.
Duarte, who has a history of speeding, pleaded not guilty to several charges. Prosecutors say investigators found seven empty vodka nips in his car, and his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
“The hospital, on its own, had done a blood draw. Based on the medical records and the conversion, it was a .19,” prosecutor James Gubitose said.
New Hampshire State Police say Duarte was driving his Tesla just before midnight Wednesday on Interstate 95, stopping at the state liquor store, which was closed. They say surveillance footage captures him getting back on the highway, traveling south in the northbound lane before crashing 14 minutes later.
Now, Cole’s heartbroken family, friends and coworkers are mourning the husband and father of four who spent 15 years protecting the Endicott College campus, remembering him as a kind man. He was on his way home for Thanksgiving following his evening shift when he was killed in the crash.
“He was more than just a police officer. He was an important part of our community, and he will be missed dearly,” said Steven DiSalvo, the college’s president.
The college says it will still give Cole’s family the employee benefit of paying for tuition once his younger children go to college.
Duarte was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail and is due back in court later in the month.
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