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Posted by: kwflatbed


Trooper Englehardt

BOSTON — State Trooper Ellen Engelhardt was a smiling presence for hundreds of Cape Cod commuters every day, as she directed traffic at the interchange of the Mid-Cape Highway and Willow Street in West Yarmouth.
That changed July 26, 2003, when Trooper Engelhardt's State Police cruiser was rear-ended by a drunk driver while she was parked in the breakdown lane on Route 25 in Wareham. She was investigating an earlier accident.
Trooper Engelhardt, who was 50 at the time of the accident, suffered severe brain trauma. She is living at the Middleboro Skilled Care Center, unable to walk, talk and eat without help.
Trooper Engelhardt, a Marion resident, has not been forgotten on Cape Cod.
A proposal by Rep. Cleon Turner, D-Dennis, would name the interchange off Exit 7 on the westbound side of Route 6 as the "State Trooper Ellen Engelhardt Interchange." It would also direct the state highway department to put up a sign saying "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Citizens of Cape Cod hereby recognize the service of State Trooper Ellen Engelhardt and thank her for her many years of service at this location."
Trooper Engelhardt's daughter, Lora Tedeman, told the state Transportation Committee at a hearing Thursday that her mother often spoke of her detail at the Cape intersection, and enjoyed it.
"She would never believe that this would be done in her memory," Mrs. Tedeman said.
The committee's co-chairs, Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, and Rep. Joseph Wagner, D-Chicopee, said they would recommend that the full Legislature approve the designation in her name.
"You should be proud of what your mother did," Rep. Wagner said.
William P. Senne, of Wayland, a 20-year-old Boston College student, admitted he was driving drunk when his Volvo slammed into Trooper Engelhardt's cruiser at nearly 100 miles per hour. He was sentenced to 2½ years in jail for drunken driving in January 2005.
"It's a miracle she survived this accident," Mrs. Tedeman said.
Rep. Turner proposed naming the intersection after Engelhardt after a local businessman, Brian Gilmore of Cape & Islands Shredding Service, offered to put up a sign in her memory near Exit 7.
Rep. Turner decided to go one step further. "This woman and her family certainly deserve the thanks of the people," Rep. Turner said.
State Police Major Chip Coletta, who graduated from the State Police Academy with Trooper Engelhardt, told legislators she had an "outstanding reputation.
"She had a reputation for always being out on the road, always being there, working hard," said Major Coletta, the Troop D commander.
Ms. Engelhardt had been a trooper for 22 years when she was injured, and she was one of the first women to serve in the State Police.
"There wasn't anyone who loved the job more than she did," said State Police Sgt. Richard Teves, her longtime boyfriend. "She just loved her job. It's a fine tribute to someone who served as well as she did for the State Police."
Mrs. Tedeman said her family has been touched by the cards and letters they have received. She thanked one Cape commuter in particular, Cindy Eldredge, of Harwich, who put up her own small sign at the interchange that read: "We still miss you, Trooper Engelhardt."
Ms. Eldredge never met Trooper Engelhardt, but she told The Times last year that "I just admire her so much."
The framed sign and a letter from Ms. Eldredge is now in her mother's room. "We get teary-eyed every time we read the letter," Mrs. Tedeman said.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/...NEWS/705110358

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Posted by: Sniper

2 and a half years............. WHAT A FUCKING JOKE !!!!!!!! As many articles have been posted on here, and as familiar as I am with this horrible incident, I almost just cried reading this..........What a great gesture by this community.

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Posted by: dcs2244

Ditto, Sniper. Every time I read an article about Trooper Englehardt I get angry. You have to love Massachusetts, The "Coddle the Criminal" state.

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Posted by: GD

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcs2244 Ditto, Sniper. Every time I read an article about Trooper Englehardt I get angry. You have to love Massachusetts, The "Coddle the Criminal" state.

Unfortunately, it is the whole Northeast!!

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