Middlesex Corrections Officer Shoots Self Before Billerica Crash
BILLERICA (CBS) – A corrections officer died in a single-car crash in Billerica early Wednesday morning.
Twenty-seven-year-old Edward "Teddy" Dillon III, of Lowell, was behind the wheel of a Middlesex Sheriff's Department cruiser when it ran off Treble Cove Road and into the woods around 4:10 a.m.
Sources tell WBZ-TV that Dillon shot himself before the crash.
"I heard the crash first," Jane Biagotti, who lives near the scene, told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
"When I went outside on my front steps, I could see the car off the road with the blue light going and the siren."
Treble Cove Road was re-opened to traffic just after 8 a.m.
Dillon was with the Sheriff's office since 2008. He worked the overnight shift at the Middlesex House of Correction in Billerica.
Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian said Dillon's job included conducting routine perimeter checks of the facility and the Sheriff's office property.
"My thoughts and prayers, as well as those of the entire Middlesex Sheriff's Office, go out to Officer Dillon's family, friends and colleagues. We know the work of correction officers is difficult and dangerous, but that does nothing to ease the pain and shock when we lose one of our own. The Middlesex Sheriff's Office will work to ensure that our officers and the Dillon family have the support they need as we grieve Teddy's passing," Koutoujian said in a statement released late Wednesday morning.
Dozens of friends and colleagues were at the scene of the crash on Wednesday. A memorial on a tree includes a photo of Dillon's hockey team and a note.
The note reads, "Not only has the Middlesex Sheriff's Office lost a great officer, partner and brother at arms, the world has lost a great friend. You will be sorely missed by all."