A driver accused of killing a Massachusetts college police sergeant in a drunk driving crash last year is now facing charges in Salem Superior Court.
Jeremy Cole, a campus police sergeant at Endicott College, was driving home to New Hampshire from his evening shift on Thanksgiving morning when he was killed in a head-on crash on Interstate 95 in Newbury.
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Keoma Duarte, 40, of New Bedford, was also hurt in the crash. He was arraigned virtually in Newburyport District Court on Dec. 3, charged with two counts of motor vehicle homicide and single counts of operating under the influence and manslaughter, the Essex County District Attorney's Office said. He also faces civil motor vehicle infractions.
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Prosecutors said Friday that Duarte would be arraigned in Salem Superior Court on Feb. 28.
Cole, a 49-year-old husband and a father of four, was remembered as a beloved mentor and protector.
"He touched every single person on campus," one Endicott student told NBC 10 Boston. "I don't know if there was anyone on campus quite like he was."
Cole was also known by the Endicott College community for being more than a traditional police officer.
"He taught defense courses for women on campus and had just such a big presence on campus, and he was just so sarcastic and funny. He was just a great guy," alumna Erin Ward said. "This has been really, really tough for everyone involved because it is impacted alumni, students, the community, and it is a loss and I feel so bad for his family."
Endicott College President Steven DiSalvo has said the school will pay the tuition for Cole's children "when they are ready to come to college," which he told Cole's widow after the crash.
"We had a conversation about the children -- especially the two younger ones -- and how important it is to support them as well," DiSalvo said.
Duarte's Tesla Model Y is believed to have been traveling south in a northbound lane on I-95 when it hit Cole's Chevrolet Trailblazer near the Central Street overpass, prosecutors said.
Cole was pronounced dead at the scene, while Duarte was flown to a hospital.
Duarte was ordered held on $500,000 bail during a Newburyport District Court court hearing where prosecutors said Duarte denied being involved in the serious car crash at the scene where his car was crushed and that he had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit.
