Yarmouth

Teen killed in Cape Cod boat trailer crash IDed, driver charged

Norwell High School is holding a meeting Wednesday for parents and other caregivers to learn how to support their children as they grieve the death of John Hughan

A pickup truck and boat that were involved in a deadly crash in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024.
NBC10 Boston via stringer

The teenager killed when an SUV hit a boat trailer he was fixing on a Cape Cod road at the start of Labor Day weekend was identified Monday, and police say the driver who caused the crash has been charged.

John Hughan, a 14-year-old from Norwell, was helping his uncle fix the trailer on the side of North Main Street in Yarmouth on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 30, when a Cadillac Escalade hit the trailer from behind, local police said Monday.

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The driver, 81-year-old Peter Richmond from Yarmouth Port, has been charged with motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, police said. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak to the charge, and police didn't say what circumstances were considered negligent.

They also didn't share the conditions of the other two people whom they've previously said were hurt.

Norwell High School is holding a meeting Wednesday for parents and other caregivers to learn how to support their children as they grieve the death.

"Looking ahead to the next few weeks, it's natural for students and families to continue needing support as they process the loss of their classmate," Principal Marc Bender said in the school's newsletter.

A 14-year-old is dead after an SUV hit a boat trailer on the side of a Cape Cod road.

Police have previously said that the crash, which took place about 1 p.m. on North Main Street near the intersection with Great Western Road, left a person pinned between the boat, which had a broken axle, and the pickup truck that had been towing it.

Footage from the scene showed a speedboat that was off its trailer, its bow in the treeline and aft alongside the pickup truck that appeared to have been towing it.

Longtime residents have said speeding is an issue on North Main Street.

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