GREENFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - A former Greenfield police sergeant has been found guilty of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation in connection with a crash with a crash that claimed the life of a New Hampshire man, authorities announced.
James B. Rode, 50, was sentenced Monday in Greenfield District Court to two years in the house of correction, nine months of which he must serve, according to a spokeswoman for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
Rode’s conviction also carries a mandatory 15-year loss of license.
Rode was responding to a report of an erratic operator on the evening of Oct. 1, 2017, when collided with a vehicle being driven by James Arcellana, 29, of Hinsdale, prosecutors said. Arcellana died three days later.
Investigators say Rode was driving 84 mph in a 30 mph zone just seconds prior to the crash. Witnesses said that his cruiser’s siren was not activated.
Rode’s employment with the Greenfield Police Department was terminated after the crash.
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