Massachusetts
Massachusetts truck safety regulations spur division in wake of Cambridge cyclist deaths
Opposition from a state municipal lobbying group over regulations that look to bolster safety around large trucks has drawn the ire of elected officials in Cambridge, where two cyclists have died after being struck in recent weeks.
All state-contracted trucks must be equipped with side guards, improved mirrors and backup cameras by January 2025, an order the Massachusetts Municipal Association says is “not reasonable for cities and towns.”
The private nonprofit says it understands the need for “reasonable measures to help to reduce injuries and fatalities on our roadways.”
The regulations, however, are “an unreasonable ask and considerable overstep of regulatory authority,” MMA’s executive director and CEO Adam Chapdelaine wrote in testimony to the state Department of Transportation.
A pair of Cambridge city councilors took to social media after listening to MMA’s testimony during a MassDOT hearing on Friday.
“These regulations will save lives,” Vice Mayor Marc McGovern posted on X. “They would have saved the lives of Kim Staley and Minh-Thi Nguyen.”
Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler added, “@massmunicipal does not represent Cambridge or plenty of other municipalities on this. When they say they speak for ‘all cities & towns’ in Massachusetts against side guards and other safety features on trucks in municipalities, they don’t speak for us.”
Staley, 55, of Florida, died on June 7 when the driver of a box truck struck her at the intersection of DeWolfe and Mt. Auburn streets, close to Memorial Drive along the Charles River. The truck, which reportedly lacked side guards, turned right as the cyclist traveled straight across, according to authorities.
Two weeks later, on June 21, Nguyen, a third-year physics graduate student at MIT, died at age 24, when a box truck driver struck her at the intersection of Hampshire and Portland streets.
A day before Nguyen’s death, MassDOT sent a guidance memorandum to contractors, subcontractors and municipalities, outlining the so-called “Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities.”
The law specifically requires “a motor vehicle, trailer, semi-trailer or semi-trailer unit classified as a class 3 or above” to be equipped with a lateral protective device, convex and crossover mirrors, and backup cameras by Jan. 1, 2025.
It will apply to vehicles leased or purchased by the state or operating under a state contract after the new year. Ambulances and other emergency medical vehicles, firetrucks, agricultural tractors and state-owned vehicles leased or purchased before 2023 will be exempt.
Chapdelaine took exception to how the law includes municipal contracts funded with state aid through MassDOT and requires that any providers contracting with municipalities must comply.
Chapdelaine estimated that 90% of each municipal DPW fleet alone would require retrofits that would cost anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000.
“We strongly support making necessary changes to reflect the true intent of the legislation and the legal underpinning of the updated state law,” Chapdelaine added in a statement to the Herald later Friday.
Charlie Baker signed the bill on one of his last days in the governor’s office. It also requires drivers to maintain a four-foot buffer when they pass construction workers, emergency responders, pedestrians and cyclists, and established a process for municipalities to request lower speed limits on state-owned roadways.
So far this year, 11 people have been killed in crashes with large trucks across Massachusetts, according to MassBike. Within the past decade, 28% of fatal bike crashes have involved large trucks, the organization states.
Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Newton, have already enacted similar requirements for their respective municipal agencies and contractors.
Charlotte Fleetwood, a senior transportation planner in Boston, said the ordinance is “not perfect but we believe it has saved lives.” The city recently purchased surround cameras for all of its large fleet vehicles, and officials are working with MassDOT to measure blind zones, she said.
Fleetwood is calling for federal action to require large vehicles be designed to be “inherently safer without these large blind zones and side cavities.”
In late March, a 4-year-old girl, Gracie Gancheva, of Denver, Colorado, died after being struck by a truck driver at an intersection near Boston Children’s Museum. Days later, a cement truck driver collided with and killed a 57-year-old man, Fernando R. Pizzaro, in a wheelchair at another South Boston intersection.
“We need to end this harm, and we can do it,” Fleetwood said.
Owners subject to the law must certify that their motor vehicle is equipped with the required devices, with certification and necessary documentation submitted to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
Owners may apply for a waiver if their vehicle can’t comply due to the design, operation or other safety considerations.
The regulations have blindsided municipal officials across the state, said Bob Szocik, director of public works in Templeton, a town of roughly 8,000 in northern Worcester County.
“My heart goes out to all of the tragedies that have happened,” he said, “but from the municipality standpoint, we have not been reached out and notified about this change.”
The lack of notification will impact town budgets, Szocik said. Templeton expects to increase its fleet with new trucks in December, he added.
“Can I catch them and have them outfitted?” Szocik asked during MassDOT’s hearing. “Where am I going to get the extra money? It’s not fair to us in a short amount of time.”
Andover resident Eric Olson has turned tragedy into advocacy. His 5-year-old daughter, Sidney Mae, died in May 2023 after being struck by the driver of a tractor-trailer at a busy intersection in Merrimack Valley town.
An investigation into the tragedy found the driver not at fault, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker announced last November. The driver did not face any criminal charges.
Olson has been pushing for side guards to be required on all trucks, encouraging MassDOT to provide incentives and grants to business owners to make their vehicles safer.
“Her death shows up as a number – one,” Olson said. “But, its impact is far more rippling. … Every day, we put the livelihood and the well-being of truck drivers at risk by not properly equipping them with safety equipment. One crash can ruin a career and shatter a life.”
Massachusetts
Conference champions, tailback terrors, and more among Thursday’s 10 high school sports takeaways – The Boston Globe
Also Thursday, the girls’ volleyball tournament got started in earnest and field hockey continued with first-round matchups.
And, of course, all the scores live here.
▪ With a 32-0 win over Wakefield, Burlington football completed its first undefeated regular season since 2006.
▪ Cardinal Spellman senior captain Kaylee Perrault reached 500 career kills during a 3-0 preliminary-round win over Pope Francis in the Division 3 girls’ volleyball tournament.
Four conference champions were crowned on the gridiron, as Barnstable won the Southeast Conference outright with a 28-18 win over Bridgewater-Raynham, Amesbury routed Manchester Essex, 40-0, to claim the Cape Ann League crown, Scituate topped Hanover, 21-7, to share the Patriot League Fisher title with the Hawks, Abington shut out East Bridgewater, 20-0, to win the South Shore Sullivan, and Medfield rode another big Brady McCormack performance to a 30-12 victory over Norton and at least a share of the Tri-Valley League Small championship.
▪ Winthrop boys’ soccer finished its season with a 10-4-4 record Monday, marking the best winning percentage in program history and capturing the Northeastern Conference Lynch Division title for the first time.
Wednesday, the first day of the field hockey and girls’ volleyball tournaments, featured very few upsets. Thursday wasn’t much different.
In Division 1 field hockey, 22nd-seeded Wachusett knocked off No. 11 Natick, 1-0, behind a third-quarter goal from Lilli Mitchell and a 22-save shutout from Alyssa Davis.
The highest-seeded team to falter thus far in the girls’ volleyball tournament was Turners Falls, the 14th seed in Division 5. They were eliminated by No. 19 Avon, 3-0.
Ben Atherton, Ashland — The senior did it all, rushing for four touchdowns and throwing another one to Kevin Ozulumba in a 41-13 Tri-Valley League win over Norwood.
Will Bush, Swampscott — The senior captain found the end zone four times, rushing for 124 yards in a 33-0 Northeastern League win over Salem.
Brady McCormack, Medfield — If Takeaways had a loyalty program, McCormack would be racking up the points. Another big week saw the senior rumble for 221 yards and two touchdowns, adding a 95-yard kickoff return TD in a 30-12 Tri-Valley League win against Norton.
Austin Rodenhiser, Holliston — Arguably the night’s top performer, the senior rumbled for five touchdowns and 156 yards on just 13 carries, bulldozing the way for a 33-0 TVL win over Dedham.
Matthew Tasker, Lincoln-Sudbury — Noticing a pattern? This senior running back ran wild, scoring four times and piling up 153 yards on 23 carries in a 35-0 Dual County League win over Wayland.
Duxbury has a new softball coach: Charlie Finn. Previously a volunteer assistant at Marshfield, Finn has been an active member of the South Shore softball community, serving as head coach of the 16U Lady Rams travel team. He is also an assistant basketball and field hockey coach at Marshfield. He takes over a team coming off a 10-9 season and a loss in the second round of the Division 2 tournament under previous coach Mike Barba.
Charlie Finn is the new varsity softball coach at Duxbury High.
Finn, an active member of the South Shore softball community, most recently volunteered with the Marshfield Rams.
“I’m extremely excited and grateful for this opportunity,” Finn said. pic.twitter.com/mMML8bbLAZ
— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass) October 30, 2025
▪ Dartmouth College freshman women’s soccer player Anna Leschly, a 2025 Brookline graduate, was called up to the US Under-20 Women’s National Team for its fall training camp, which concluded Thursday at the University of Kansas. Leschly was one of 10 college players who joined 12 professionals and two club players.
▪ UMass Dartmouth senior Zuri Walters, a Boston Latin graduate from Dorchester, was named to the All-Little East Conference Second Team Singles for the second straight year. Walters went 6-6 at No. 1 singles, finding her stride midway through the tennis season with a 5-1 stretch starting in September.
Max Morin, Hanover, 170
Tim Durocher, Plymouth South, 141
Justin Dube, Abington, 100
Cole Doyle, North Quincy, 2
Michael Wildfire, Cohasset, 2
Brady McCormack, Medfield, 221
Jayson Dyer, Barnstable, 171
Austin Rodenhiser, Holliston, 156
Matthew Trasker, Lincoln-Sudbury, 153
Cameron Banda, Shawsheen, 137
Will Bush, Swampscott, 124
Erik Knight, Billerica, 120
Ty Holmes, West Bridgewater, 113
Austin Rodenhiser, Holliston, 5
Ben Atherton, Ashland, 4
Will Bush, Swampscott, 4
Matthew Trasker, Lincoln-Sudbury, 4
Noah Allen, Whittier, 3
Cameron Banda, Shawsheen, 3
Gianni DePrimeo, Winchester, 3
Gus Green, Cohasset, 3
Andrew Orphanos, Bishop Feehan, 3
Joe Puleo, Amesbury, 3
Ian Alexion, Fairhaven, 2
Jake Banda, Shawsheen, 2
Jake D’Antonio, Marshfield, 2
Jayson Dyer, Barnstable, 2
Ty Holmes, West Bridgewater, 2
Erik Knight, Billerica, 2
Aaron Lague, Fairhaven, 2
Breydan Lewis, Bridgewater-Raynham, 2
Brady McCormack, Medfield, 2
Nick Rotondi, Winchester, 2
Will Wood, Xaverian, 2
Caiden Blake, Bridgewater-Raynham, 186
Kellen Balducci, Hanover, 89
Shane McDonald, Plymouth South, 85
8. Volleyball leaderboard
Gabby Vigeant, Newburyport, 22
Sophia Jeager, Attleboro, 20
Brooke Braswell, Lynn Classical, 18
Kelsey Dinjian, Nashoba, 16
Francesca Reardon, Shawsheen, 13
Olivia Leonardo, Attleboro, 12
Sydney Lynch, Peabody, 12
Shauna Baker, Dennis-Yarmouth, 11
Lizzy Bettencourt, Peabody, 11
Kendra Marino, Billerica, 11
Haley Carter, Attleboro, 31
Rafaela Prebianchi, Dennis-Yarmouth, 30
Nicky Murphy, Barnstable, 27
Emma Chevalier, Lynn Classical, 22
Siena Torili, Nashoba, 20
Meghan Downs, Billerica, 17
Reese Schaiberger, Swampscott, 14
Ilaisha Taveras, Greater Lawrence, 23
Paige Martin, Shawsheen, 20
Isabella DiSalvo, Shawsheen, 19
Ellie Freeman, Nashoba, 18
Sophia Cantwell, Dennis-Yarmouth, 15
Sophia Jeager, Attleboro, 14
Sage Young, Attleboro, 14
Haley Carter, Attleboro, 13
Lizzy Bettencourt, Peabody, 12
Maria Sirota, Swampscott, 11
Kendra Marino, Billerica, 6
Jaydalise Davila, Greater Lawrence, 5
Carly Deacy, Shawsheen, 5
Brooke Braswell, Lynn Classical, 3
Ellie Freeman, Nashoba, 10
Gabby Vigeant, Newburyport, 8
Jazzy Coyer, Barnstable, 6
Emma Chevalier, Lynn Classical, 5
Maria Rosario, Greater Lawrence, 4
Hector Bermudez, Somerville, 2
Raegan Dillon, St. John Paul II, 5
10. Field hockey leaderboard
Shannon Lane, Canton, 4
Carolyn Schiavo, Canton, 3
Hayden Emerson, Foxborough, 2
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
Meet the Week 8 High School Football Player of the Week candidates
These baker’s dozen candidates were cooking in Week 8. Vote for the Daily News High School Football Player of the Week.
Our No. 1 stayed firmly in place. After weeks of coming close, St. John’s Prep grabbed the top spot in our poll from Catholic Memorial with all four first-place votes and a unanimous 100 points last week. The Eagles stayed firmly in place following a convincing 37-15 win at Malden Catholic last Friday night.
This is the final week of the regular season before a much-anticipated MIAA tournament, and teams across the commonwealth are staking their places in league standings and the statewide power rankings.
Kyle Grabowski (MetroWest Daily News), Jason Snow (The Patriot Ledger), Tim Whelan (Gannett New England) and Chris McDaniel (Gannett New England) will collectively rank the top teams in the state every week this season. These are the rankings heading into Week 8.
Watch MA high school football on NFHS Network
MA high school football top 25 rankings
1. St. John’s Prep- 100 points (4 first-place votes)
2. Springfield Central – 96 points
3. Xaverian – 92 points
4. Catholic Memorial – 88 points
5. King Philip – 84 points
6. Natick – 79 points
7. Methuen – 73 points
8. Central Catholic – 70 points
9. Bishop Feehan – 63 points
10. Tewksbury – 61 points
11. Barnstable – 60 points
12. Marshfield – 54 points
13. Scituate – 53 points
14. Foxborough – 50 points
15. Mansfield – 49 points
16. Andover – 39 points
17. North Attleborough – 37 points
18. Shawsheen Valley Tech – 31 points
19. Milton – 30 points
20. Winchester – 23 points
21. Bridgewater-Raynham – 14 points
22. Abington – 9 points
23. Canton – 8 points
T-24. Hingham – 7 points
T-24. Hanover – 7 points
Other receiving votes: Leominster (6), Duxbury (6), Archbishop Williams (5), Wachusett (5), Bedford (1)
Who jumped into the top 25?
Hanover (5-2) moved into the poll after a 42-21 victory over Quincy, the Hawks’ fourth straight win.
Other notable activity
The top eight remained the same as last week, but Bishop Feehan moved up three spots to #9 after a 27-21 win over a tough Franklin team. North Attleborough, meanwhile, moved down seven spots from #10 to #17 after a 24-14 defeat to Mansfield. The Hornets moved from #20 to #15 with the Hockomock League Davenport triumph.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s office confirmed Wednesday morning that one of her staffers has been fired following his arrest.
“The Governor’s Office has been made aware of the arrest of an employee, Lamar Cook,” a spokesperson for Healey said in a statement. “The conduct that occurred here is unacceptable and represents a major breach of the public trust. Mr. Cook has been terminated from his position effective immediately. This criminal investigation is ongoing, and our administration will work with law enforcement to assist them in their work.”
The state’s website says Cook served as the governor’s western Massachusetts deputy director in Springfield. He has reportedly served in that role since April of 2023.
According to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office, Cook is charged with cocaine trafficking, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition and is expected to be arraigned in Springfield District Court on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Cook was arrested Tuesday following an investigation conducted by state police, Homeland Security and other partner agencies. They said investigators have seized multiple parcels containing a total of 21 kilograms of suspected cocaine, including about 8 kilograms that were intercepted on Saturday during a controlled delivery operation in Springfield.
They said the controlled delivery took place at the Springfield State Office Building, where Cook worked. Investigators executed a search warrant of Cook’s former office within the office building on Monday night.
Prosecutors said the investigation that led to Cook’s arrest stemmed from two prior seizures conducted by law enforcement earlier this month. On Oct. 10, they intercepted and searched two suspicious packages at Hotel UMass in Amherst, which were found to contain approximately 13 kilograms of suspected cocaine.
“Evidence collected during that operation was consistent with the narcotics recovered during the most recent controlled delivery in Springfield,” the district attorney’s office said. “The investigation into the UMass seizure remains ongoing and may result in additional charges related to the prior shipments in Hampshire County.”
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