The Massachusetts State Police are investigating the death of a young child following a crash early this morning in Clarksburg. Preliminary investigation suggests the two-year-old boy died after his father, while fleeing the scene of a motor vehicle crash on foot, lost the child in a brook.
A Trooper from the State Police-Cheshire Barracks and Clarksburg Firefighters who responded to the crash located and pulled the child from Hudson Brook. The child was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
The child's father, DAREL A. GALORENZO, 35, of Readsboro, Vt., was determined to have been operating under the influence and was taken into custody by State Police. Further charges related to the death of the child are expected and will be determined upon completion of the ongoing investigation.
At 1:58 AM Troopers from State Police-Cheshire were dispatched to a motor vehicle crash on Middle Road in Clarksburg, in the area of #443. Within minutes, a Trooper and EMS were on scene and immediately learned that a young child who had been in the vehicle, a 2015 Subaru Crosstrek, was unaccounted for. GALORENZO, the driver and the toddler's father, was present in the area of the brook as well.
Troopers and Firefighters immediately began searching Hudson Brook for the child, and located him in the water shortly before 2:20 AM, in an area of the brook close to #150 Middle Road. Within moments a Trooper and fire personnel recovered the toddler from the brook and EMTs began immediate emergency first-aid on scene for drowning injuries.
The child was transported Berkshire Medical Center in North Adams, where he was pronounced deceased.
Meanwhile, Troopers on-scene made observations of GALORENZO consistent with his being intoxicated. GALORENZO was also transported to Berkshire Medical Center for evaluation under police guard. After he was examined and discharged, a Trooper transported him to the Cheshire Barracks, where he was booked on the following charges:
Manslaughter;
Reckless Endangerment of a Child;
Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle; and
Operating Under the Influence.
GALORENZO was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail and was expected to be arraigned today.
The investigation into the incident was conducted by the State Police Detective Unit for Berkshire County, the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office, the Massachusetts State Police Cheshire Barracks, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, the State Police Crime Scene Services Section, and the North Adams Police Department.
No further information is being released at this time.