A Boston police officer was killed after allegedly being run over by his girlfriend while he was buried in a snow drift, according to investigators in the Massachusetts city.
Per news reports, Officer John O’Keefe, a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, was found lying outside a home in the Canton area of the city on Saturday. After investigating, police believe 41-year-old Karen Read of nearby Mansfield allegedly ran him over with her car and drove away, leaving him in the snow in the aftermath of a major winter snowstorm in the area.
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Read was arrested Tuesday night and officially charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death, and motor vehicle homicide. Multiple local news sources have reported that Read was apparently O’Keefe’s girlfriend.
According to prosecutors, the couple had gone out on Friday night before driving to a residence on Fairview Road in Canton. Read reportedly told prosecutors that she dropped O’Keefe off and decided to go home, because she was not feeling well. She said she made a three-point turn in her car and left, but “did not see O’Keefe enter the house.” According to CBS Boston, investigators claim they have Ring Cam footage of the incident.
Read told investigators that she later tried to contact O’Keefe but was unable to get through. The next morning, after she noticed the tail light on her car was broken, she returned to the home with a friend. Upon discovering O’Keefe, Read apparently wondered whether he could have been hit by a snow plow.
According to WCVB, prosecutors claim Read reportedly said:
“Could I have hit him? Did I hit him?”
So awful.
When O’Keefe was finally discovered in the snow, he had severe cuts on his arm and head, his eyes were swollen shut, and he was bleeding from the nose and the mouth. The District Attorney confirmed that it appeared as though he’d been left out in the cold for some time after apparently being struck. The local medical examiner further determined O’Keefe suffered “multiple skull fractures and hypothermia” that eventually led to his death.
This week, at her arraignment, Read’s defense attorney argued for $5,000 bail, and explained that his client suffers from multiple health issues including colitis, multiple sclerosis, and a brain tumor that was diagnosed last summer. The judge ordered her to be held on $50,000 bail, and to have no contact with the victim’s family.
As for O’Keefe, he leaves behind a niece and a nephew who he had adopted and was raising after his sister and her husband died previously.
Boston PD Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long released a statement about O’Keefe’s death, saying:
“The Boston Police Department continues to grieve over the tragic loss of our brother Police Officer John O’Keefe. John was a kind person, dedicated to his family, and will be greatly missed by his coworkers and anyone who had the privilege of meeting him.”
Here’s more on the sad situation, from WCVB (below):
Wow.
So sad for everyone involved.
[Image via CBS Boston/YouTube]
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