‘She loved everyone, without exception’: Newburyport mourns local reverend killed in pedestrian crash

A North Shore community is mourning the tragic loss of a local reverend, who was struck and killed by a pickup truck outside of Newburyport City Hall last week.

The Rev. Helen M. Murgida, a community service minister affiliated with the First Religious Society, Unitarian Universalist Church on Pleasant Street, was scheduled to deliver a prayer at Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon’s State of the City address on Wednesday evening when she was hit by a truck around 6:40 p.m., according to city and state officials.

First responders transported Murgida to Anna Jaques Hospital where she was pronounced dead, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office noted in a statement.

“This is a tragic day for the Newburyport community,” Reardon said in a statement on Thursday. “Our hearts are prayers are with her family, friends, and the First Religious Society.”

In a post to the church’s Facebook page, the Rev. Rebecca Bryan, minister of the First Religious Society, wrote, “It is with great sadness that we share the news of the unexpected and tragic passing of our dear and beloved Reverend Helen Murgida, FRS Affiliate Minister.

“This is beyond imagination and difficult to process. We hold Rev. Helen’s family in our hearts and prayers,” she continued.

Murgida, who also worked as a consultant for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Approved Special Education Schools, “was a woman of grace and dignity, whose work with special needs children and their families, along with her interfaith ministry at FRS and beyond, has touched countless people,” Bryan wrote.

Born and raised in Somerville, Murgida attended Matignon Cambridge High School and went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northeastern University and Salem State University, and a doctorate from Nova Southeastern University, according to her biography on the church’s website.

She was the wife of the late Frank Murgida, a longtime choir member who actually brought her to the Newburyport church, and the mother of two sons, Matthew and Lucas, the church’s website noted.

A co-founder of the Pentucket Workshop Preschool in Georgetown, Murgida taught at the Cotting School and held administrative positions at the Somerville Charter School and Pathways Academy at McLean Hospital. She also served as a hospice volunteer, was on the Executive Committee of the Interfaith
Ministers of New England, and was a member of the Council for Exceptional Children.

“She was a devoted advocate for ending the stigma associated with mental health issues and invisible disabilities,” Bryan added in her statement. “Her long career working on behalf of children with special needs is legendary. She loved everyone, without exception.”

Similarly in his statement, the mayor noted, “As an Interfaith Chaplain, Reverend Helen touched many lives within her congregation and throughout Newburyport.

“She had spent a long and rewarding career in special education, and she carried her passion to support those facing challenges on through her faith,” Reardon continued. “She advocated tirelessly for the inclusion of people with disabilities, delivering sermons and organizing community programming to raise awareness.”

The driver of the truck remained at the scene Wednesday evening. No charges had been filed as of Monday afternoon. The investigation by local and state police remains ongoing, the district attorney’s office said.

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