Local News

Memorials, fundraisers announced for Waltham hit and run victims

Waltham police officer Paul Tracey, 58, and National Grid worker Roderick Jackson, 36, both died after a hit and run at a construction site.

December 11, 2023

1 minute to read

The memorial service for fallen Waltham police officer Paul Tracey has been announced, while multiple fundraisers circulate to support the family of Roderick Jackson, the National Grid worker who was killed in the same crash last week.

A New Hampshire man driving allegedly without a license crashed into a work site on Totten Pond Road in Waltham where Jackson and Tracey were working, then fled the scene. Peter Simon, 54, faces more than a dozen charges in connection with the fatal crash.

A visitation for Tracey will be held on Thursday, Dec. 14 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church in Waltham. The service, open to family, friends, and the law enforcement community, will be held Friday morning at the same church, followed by a burial with police honors at Mount Feake Cemetery in Waltham.

Public services for Jackson will be at St. Paul AME Church on Bishop Allen Drive and Columbia Street in Cambridge on Saturday, Dec. 16. The visitation from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. will be followed by a service. Cambridge community members also held a candlelight vigil at Hoyt Field on Saturday to honor Jackson’s life.

Those looking to support his family can donate to GoFundMes organized by a coworker and a friend.

The Greg Hill Foundation raised more than $100,000 for all victims of the crash — two other National Grid workers were injured — and the Boston Bruins’s raffle to support the families of the men killed is ongoing.

Waltham-based company Vantage Builders announced their own fundraiser to support the local community following the loss. They’ve raised more than $13,000 so far.

36-year-old Jackson grew up in Cambridge and worked for National Grid starting in 2021. He went to Cambridge Rindge & Latin School before attending Framingham State University, where he played basketball.

58-year-old Tracey was a Waltham police officer for more than 25 years. He’s being remembered as a loving father and husband to his two children and wife.

“Paul was truly the ‘ROCK’ of the family,” his obituary said.