Motorcycle is at center of inquiry into a trooper's death
No evidence found of sudden illness
By Tom Farmer, Globe Correspondent | July 24, 2005
An investigation into a motorcycle crash in the Ted Williams Tunnel on Friday that killed a veteran state trooper is focusing on mechanical failure as a potential cause, authorities said. The Harley-Davidson will be checked by an independent specialist.
David Procopio, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said investigators do not believe that Trooper Vincent Cila had been taken ill before his State Police motorcycle veered into a tunnel wall at 4:35 p.m. on Friday.
State Police detectives assigned to Conley's office and troopers from the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, are now seeking to determine if there was a defect in the motorcycle that might have caused Cila to lose control.
''We will have the motorcycle thoroughly examined by an outside expert," Procopio said yesterday. ''We're looking at all possible causes, but based on the preliminary autopsy results, it does not appear that there was a medical incident that caused him to lose control. We will continue to do additional testing."
The autopsy found that Cila had died from ''severe trauma," Procopio said. Several troopers and two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the details, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that one of Cila's arms had been severed and that he had suffered massive blood loss.
Cila, 45, of Wakefield, was traveling in front of another trooper driving a cruiser in the tunnel ramp from Interstate 90 West to Interstate 93 South, near D Street in South Boston, when Cila veered into a wall for no apparent reason, according to a State Police spokeswoman, Lieutenant Sharon Costine. Cila and the other trooper, whom officials declined to identify, were believed to have been at or below the 40 mile-per-hour speed limit.
Cila had been trained and certified to operate the motorcycle, Costine said. ''We do our own training, and they have to be certified," she said. Information was not available yesterday on how often the motorcycles are serviced and inspected or whether State Police have documented mechanical problems, Costine said.
Cila, a 22-year member of the State Police, was working his regular shift at Logan International Airport and was driving the motorcycle to Dorchester to be serviced, Procopio said. ''The nature of what needed to be serviced will be part of the investigation," he said. The trooper in the cruiser was going to return Cila to Logan.
''There are troopers assigned to the Logan barracks who use motorcycles who are not assigned to the motorcycle unit," Costine said.
Investigators were scheduled to return to the crash scene today to conduct additional testing and to take more measurements, Procopio said. The Suffolk district attorney is overseeing the probe because it involves the death of a police officer, he said.
Cila and his wife, Annette, had two daughters. Troopers stationed at Cila's home in Wakefield and at his parents' house in Malden yesterday afternoon said family members did not want to speak with the media. ''They are having a real tough time with this," a state trooper said outside Cila's home.
At both residences, a steady stream of well-wishers arrived to pay their respects and to comfort the family, some wiping tears from their eyes. Tory Bramante, one of Cila's Wakefield neighbors, said the trooper's death had cast a pall over the neighborhood.
''I've known him for seven years, and he was a wonderful family guy," said Bramante, who had just left Cila's home. ''He would do anything for you. He was a great neighbor.
''My favorite memory of him is just standing in my driveway talking to him," he said, adding that he and Cila shared a love of power boating.