‘Hero’ husband killed by flying tool on I-95 averts crash, saves wife

Thomas Arrington’s last selfless act was to save his wife’s life.

“A long piece of metal came toward our windshield and it hit Tom. He was able to stop the car. It’s amazing. He then died instantly,” Sherri Arrington told the Herald while seated on a jet at Logan Airport Friday for a solemn flight home to Alaska.

“A police officer told me he saved my life and probably others,” she added. “It’s such a positive thing.”

Police said a concrete screed — a metal tool used to level poured concrete — fell out of a Ford F550 dump truck on Interstate 95 in Danvers at 8:23 a.m., piercing the windshield on the couple’s rented Ford Fusion. They were an hour into a New England vacation.

“The last thing he did was save my mom’s life,” Jennifer Hoadley said calling from Alaska. “He’s a hero.”

The father of two, and grandfather to three, was a shop teacher in San Bernardino, Calif., who was ready to retire at the end of the year, his wife said. They were married for 45 years and planned to live permanently in Palmer, Alaska. He was 69, Sherri is 68.

“He took three weeks’ leave so we could take train rides, see tall ships, look at lighthouses, covered bridges, see Cape Cod and learn all the history,” Sherri said. “We had just landed in Boston.”

She choked back emotion saying “Tom” was “the best dad in the world” and would “drop anything in a moment” for her or their kids.

“He liked to help people and he believed in God. He was a good guy who took care of his family,” she said as her flight was about to take off. “Our daughter is really angry someone would not have taken care of their load.”

Massachusetts State Police are investigating the grim accident.

Arrington and his wife were traveling northbound on the highway near Exit 67B in Danvers, police said, when the tool fell out of the dump truck driving on the same side of the road and stabbed through the windshield of the rented car.

Incredibly, a mortally wounded Thomas Arrington was able to pull the grey sedan into the far lane and brake before he died, according to police. First responders found him dead on the scene. Sherri Arrington was transported to Beverly Hospital with minor injuries. She was released later in the day.

The driver of the F550 dump truck was a 21-year-old man employed by a Lynn construction company, but police have not released his name. He identified himself to State Police shortly after the accident and has been cooperative, officials said.

Troop A of the State Police will continue to investigate the incident with the Essex County District Attorney’s Office and “will determine if charges are warranted.”

Sherri Arrington said an off-duty police officer helped her all day before dropping her off at Logan Airport to fly home to be with her grief-stricken family. She added that her family had built a shop on their property in Alaska so her husband could keep fixing cars — usually for free.

“My dad had the biggest heart,” his daughter added. “If anybody’s car broke down he’d fix it for free and say, ‘Make me a sandwich’ or ‘Give me a beer.’ My dad had the biggest heart.”

The officer who jumped in to help was State Police Detective Lt. Mario Millett, commander of the  Gang Unit. “He was driving in the area at the time of the crash and stopped to help,” State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said.

“He escorted me all the way to the airport,” Sherri Arrington said. “He was amazing.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3B45OyX