ANDOVER, MASS. (WHDH) - A beloved state police trooper who was killed in the line of duty late Thursday night had deep roots in many Massachusetts communities.
Trooper Tamar Bucci had been attempting to pull over on the side Interstate 93 in Stoneham to assist a disabled motorist just before the Montvale Avenue exit around 11:45 p.m. when a tanker truck carrying 10,000 gallons of gasoline struck her cruiser, pushing it off the roadway and into a rock wall, according to state police Col. Christopher Mason.
Bucci was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The 34-year-old graduated from Andover High School in 2006 before attending Middlesex Community College.
In a statement, Andover Public Schools said, “Trooper Bucci was a 2006 graduate of Andover High School. In line with Governor Baker’s orders, our flags will be at half staff to honor her memory. At our Andover Girls’ Hockey and Girls’ Basketball games this evening, we will be asking those in attendance to participate in a moment of silence.”
In 2017, Bucci graduated from the Citizens Police Academy in Reading, a town where she lived for several years.
“We at the RPD were lucky to have met this wonderful young lady,” a post on the Reading police Facebook page read. “She told us she wanted to be a police officer and she stuck with her dreams and became a Massachusetts State Trooper.”
Bucci was assigned to the Medford barracks last month. Prior to that, she had been assigned to the Brookfield barracks after graduating as a member of the 85th Recruit Training Troop on May 6, 2020, according to Mason.
Bucci once worked security at the Encore Casino in Everett.
In a statement, the casino said, “We at Encore Boston Harbor were deeply saddened to wake up to the news of this terrible tragedy. Our sincerest sympathies and condolences go out to Trooper Bucci’s family and loved ones.”
Before joining the state police, Bucci spent time helping people get healthy as a personal trainer at Assembly Sports Club in Somerville.
Jo-Anne Sullivan, the general manager of Assembly Sports Club, said Bucci was “exceptionally beautiful” and “all about helping people.”
“She wanted a different spin on police officers. She wanted people to know that they’re not bad guys,” Sullivan recalled. “She shared, she shared, and she shared her kindness. She’ll be sorely missed.”
Pat Catino, the club’s former owner, added that Bucci was loved by everyone who came in contact with her.
“She lit up the room when she walked in and everybody gravitated toward her. They just loved being around her,” Catino said.
Bucci is survived by her mother, father, two sisters, a stepsister, and a stepbrother.
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