Driver in MA trooper crash posts bail

MANSFIELD, Mass. (WPRI) - The driver involved in a fatal crash that left a Massachusetts state trooper dead has posted bail.

Eyewitness News has confirmed that Anthony Perry is a free on bail after posting $10,000. Police said Sgt. Douglas Weddleton was killed after a vehicle struck him on Route 95 north in Mansfield early Friday morning.

State Police said Sgt. Weddleton was blocking off the off-ramp to Route 495 north (Exit 6) for road construction, when an Acura tried to get around the roadblock around 1:30 a.m.

He got out of his cruiser to stop the Acura, and moments later a Ford pickup truck struck the Acura from behind, ramming it into Weddleton. He was pushed across all three travel lanes and suffered serious injuries.

In 2008, RI lawmakers passed the "Move Over" law, requiring drivers change lanes or at least slow down if any emergency vehicle is off to the side of the highway with another car. The law went into effect in Massachusetts in 2009.

Weddleton was rushed to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, where he died from his injuries.

"There's always sadness when we lose someone so senselessly, and to have it be a member who's out there trying to protect other people from these types of situations even makes it more sad," said Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Marian McGovern.

"But the one thing we know, especially about the Massachusetts State Police, is we persevere. And we won't let this get us down. This will only give us the drive to do our job better and to make some significance and make some meaning out of what happened to Doug."

The driver of the pickup, Anthony Perry, 45, of Hyde Park faces charges including drunken driving, motor vehicle homicide and failure to move over for a stopped emergency vehicle.

• Target 12: Driving danger move over law

The driver of the Acura, Kenneth Weiand, 43, of Walpole faces a drunken-driving charge. Both men were arraigned Friday in Attleboro District Court.

Weddleton was a 28-year veteran of the Massachusetts State Police. He leaves behind a wife and four sons, ages 14 to 26. Officials said that just hours before the crash, Weddleton had attended one of his sons' eighth-grade graduation ceremony.