Body found in burning car in Rowley shortly after police spoke to driver, DA says
ROWLEY - A 79-year-old woman was found dead in a burning car in Rowley early Friday, about an hour after a police officer spoke with her.
Susan Frey of Gloucester was found inside a 2003 Volkswagen Beetle that crashed on a driveway on Haverhill Street just before 1 a.m. When firefighters arrived it was fully engulfed in flames. The car had no known connection to that address, according to Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker.
Tucker said a Rowley Police officer spotted the car about an hour earlier across town parked on Stackyard Road.
"The officer spoke with the driver, assessed the driver as capable of continuing to drive and gave the driver directions back to the road leading to their home," Tucker's office said in a statement.
"The officer then followed the driver on Route 133 into Ipswich before alerting Ipswich Police that the vehicle was passing through their town."
Rowley Police didn't see the vehicle again until they were told about the crash.
Investigators say based on evidence found at the scene and inside Frey's apartment, foul play is not suspected.
Frey lived alone in an East Main Street home in Gloucester for the last 16 years. Her next-door neighbor tells WBZ, "She was just a really unique, very unique, and amazing woman. That's all I want to say about her."
The crash remains under investigation.