Last week, a Grand Jury indicted Kenneth Weiand (43 of Walpole) and Anthony Perry Jr. (46 of Hyde Park) in the death of state police Sergeant Douglas A. Weddleton of Brockton. The accident occurred on June 18, around 1:15 a.m. Weddleton, a married father of four, was working a construction site detail along Interstate 95 in Mansfield.
Sgt. Weddleton parked his police cruiser along the off-ramp, in order to alert drivers and protect the construction crew. The police reported that Weiand attempted to drive his Acura around the blockade. Weddleton tried to pull him over to speak with him. While speaking with Weiand next to his vehicle, Perry crashed his Ford pickup truck into the back of the Acura at a high speed. As a result, Weddleton was pinned under the Acura, as it careened across the highway due to the force of being hit from behind. He was pronounced dead after being rushed to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro.
An alcohol breathalyzer test on scene showed Weiand’s blood-alcohol level at .20, significantly above the legal limit of .08. Perry registered a level of .07 at the scene, and a .06 at the police station after the accident. While Perry was driving at under the legal limit, a .07 is still enough to impair driving. The investigation showed that both men had prior motor vehicle offenses, mostly for speeding. Neither men had a previous drunk driving charge.
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