BEVERLY – Endicott College Police Sergeant Jeremy Cole was remembered as a friend to all during a ceremony on campus Monday, just days after his tragic death.
Endicott College Police Sergeant Jeremy Cole
Sergeant Cole was died in a wrong-way accident on Thanksgiving as he headed home from work early Thursday morning. He was 49 years old. Cole is survived by his wife and four children, two of whom are under the age of ten.
“The college will pay their tuition when they are ready to go to college, to in some small way help heal the wound they are dealing with right now,” Endicott President Steven DiSalvo said at the campus event for Cole when the students returned. from the holiday period.
A memorial on campus is filled with flowers and commemorative coins.
CBS Boston
Students, colleagues and fellow police officers lit candles in his memory. Many wrote messages to Cole’s family during the ceremony.
“We’re all with them and we love them and we’re there for them and they’re not grieving alone,” student Ava Maher told WBZ-TV. “He was just such a sweet guy.”
“He was definitely a light to all of us. There was no one like J. Cole,” student Jessica Carra said.
Cole had been with the Endicott College Police Department for 15 years.
“All the interactions I had with him were just incredible, so I think it was the least I could do, showing up today,” student Emily Sousa said.
“He was more than just a police officer. He was an important part of our community and he will be greatly missed,” DiSalvo told WBZ.
Endicott will make handlers and therapy dogs available to students and staff as needed.
“It’s very difficult for us right now,” Carra told WBZ. “He was a unique person and you know you will never find anyone like him again.”
Wrong collision
Massachusetts State Police said Sgt. Cole was driving a Chevrolet Trailblazer north on Interstate 95 just after midnight Thursday when a southbound Tesla crashed head-on into his SUV in Newbury.
The Newbury Fire Department said it took almost an hour to get the drivers out of their cars. Sergeant Cole died at the scene.
Chief Ramsdell said Sgt. Cole drove home to Exeter, New Hampshire, after leaving his evening shift on campus.
The Tesla driver was taken to a hospital in Boston by medical rescue helicopter. Nothing is yet known about his condition. Investigators have not released his name. State police described him only as “a man in his 40s from southeastern Massachusetts” and he is expected to be charged. No update has been received from the Essex County District Attorney’s Office.
Massachusetts State Police said the Tesla was first spotted going the wrong way on I-95 by New Hampshire State Police. A tire deflation device was placed on the highway in Georgetown to stop the car, but crashed into Cole’s SUV in Newbury before reaching the device.
Endicott College is located in Beverly, Massachusetts, about 30 miles north of Boston. The campus was closed last week for the Thanksgiving holiday.
“We will continue to work with our students both inside and outside the classroom to ensure they can process this appropriately,” DiSalvo told WBZ.
A candlelight vigil will be held in Endicott on Tuesday evening.
Jordyn Jagolinzer
