PLYMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - Flags flew at half-staff Tuesday at the Plymouth Police Department as co-workers, friends, and family members mourn the death of a retired sergeant who died Friday when police say a pickup truck driver collided with a group of motorcyclists in Randolph, New Hampshire, killing seven of them.
Michael Ferazzi, who first started out as Plymouth police dispatcher in 1982, died tragically alongside six fellow Marines when Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, allegedly crossed the center line on Route 2 and plowed into 10 motorcycles, who were part of the Marine JarHeads, a New England motorcycle club that includes Marines and their spouses.
Zhukovskyy, a resident of West Springfield, pleaded not guilty through his lawyer to seven counts of negligent homicide on Tuesday.
The 62-year-old Ferazzi joined the Marines in 1976 and spent almost 30 years with the Plymouth Police Department, rising through the ranks to sergeant.
Ferazzi, an avid motorcyclist, was a member of The American Legion in Plymouth.
“He became a member of the Post’s color guard, he was very military,” American Legion Chaplin Phil Ryan said. “He was a full Marine like myself. We’re always very military and he enjoyed it.”
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When Ferazzi retired in 2014, he moved to New Hampshire, where he joined the Merrimack County Sheriff’s Department and worked as a part-time court security guard.
“If you met Mike, five minutes you would know that he is a together guy,” Merrimack County Sheriff Scott Hilliard said. “He was very sincere and very proud.”
Hilliard said Ferazzi recently had a bout with cancer but things were looking better for him.
“He was a very positive man. You would never know it,” he said of Ferazzi. “Always upbeat.”
Ferazzi was also a father of three and a grandfather of two.
“He has a terrific family who are hurting deeply,” Hilliard said.
His funeral has been scheduled for Friday. Plymouth police officers plan to escort Ferazzi to his final resting place.
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