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By Sana Muneer
A former state trooper pleaded guilty to a 2021 motor vehicle homicide that killed a 51-year-old Winthrop man, prosecutors said.
Monson resident Kristopher Carr will serve a split sentence for the crash that killed Christopher Zike on October 29, 2021, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said in a press release.
Carr, an off-duty state trooper at the time of the crash, was driving under the influence with his girlfriend in the passenger’s seat. After leaning over to kiss his girlfriend, Carr lost control of the vehicle. Carr’s SUV swerved and struck the median, causing Zike’s motorcycle to crash into the SUV, officials said.
Zike was on his way to a 2 a.m. shift at IKEA in Stoughton at the time of the crash and was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center after being thrown from his motorcycle, prosecutors said.
According to the press release, statements and videos confirmed that Carr consumed multiple alcoholic beverages the evening of October 28 and the morning of October 29.
Carr was in the one-year probationary period of his employment with State Police, and was fired after the crash.
Carr was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail, with 18 months to serve and the balance suspended for three years, by Judge Mary Ames.
Ames additionally ordered a substance abuse evaluation and any necessary follow-up treatment.
Carr’s driver’s license will also be suspended for 15 years, per state law.
At Wednesday hearing, Zike’s brother said Zike planted a garden at the Winthrop Senior Center and was “interested and invested in his community in Winthrop.”
“We were reminded in a most tragic way today how a few extremely bad decisions ended one life and impacted so many others,” Hayden said at Wednesday’s hearing. “Christopher Zike’s life will be remembered and mourned by his family and friends while Kristopher Carr’s life will take a vastly different path than he likely intended, all due to his decisions and actions that night and morning.”
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