The Worcester County District Attorney's Office has closed its investigation into the death of Uxbridge Police Officer Stephen LaPorta without filing any criminal charges. LaPorta, 43, was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer after midnight on Jan. 7 while standing outside his cruiser assisting a stranded motorist on an ice-slicked stretch of Route 146.
According to the Worcester Telegram, the DA's office said this week that the investigation's results warrant no criminal charges. The newspaper's report, authored by Brad Petrishen, noted that Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.'s office said it would review a request from the Telegram & Gazette for additional information about the investigation.
The crash happened on northbound Route 146 near mile marker 5.9 in Uxbridge, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office. The district attorney's office said LaPorta was outside his vehicle assisting a motorist at approximately 12:40 a.m. when he was struck by the tractor-trailer. He was declared deceased at the scene.
Icy Roads Across the Region That Night
The driver of the tractor-trailer was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries, the district attorney's office said, while the motorist LaPorta had stopped to help was not physically injured. Roads across Massachusetts were icy due to freezing rain overnight, according to CBS News Boston, and officers on duty that night described Route 146 as an “ice rink” over the radio.
CBS News Boston reported that LaPorta was 43 years old and lived in Uxbridge. He had joined the Uxbridge Police Department as a full-time officer in June 2024, following 17 years in Mendon as a full-time dispatcher and detail officer. Before that, per the same station's reporting, he also served as a part-time officer in both Uxbridge and Mendon.
A Family Left Behind, and a Community's Response
LaPorta left behind his wife, Shannon LaPorta, and his young son, Matthew, the Worcester Telegram reported in June. He was remembered as a family man with a big smile who spread joy, and his funeral drew the governor along with eulogists who highlighted his passions for sports, music and fatherhood.
Shannon LaPorta and Matthew received support from people across town and the state in the months after the crash. Patriots owner Robert Kraft gifted the pair Super Bowl tickets, and state Sen. Ryan Fattman filed pending legislation that would boost survivor benefits by posthumously promoting LaPorta to sergeant.
The closure of the LaPorta case comes the same week officials in New York announced they would not charge an off-duty NYPD officer who struck and killed a pedestrian in Rockland County, according to lohud, underscoring how frequently roadside fatalities involving law enforcement end without criminal prosecution.
