The suspect in a wrong-way crash that killed an Endicott College police sergeant on Thanksgiving morning has been extradited to New Hampshire, according to New Hampshire State Police.
Keoma Duarte, 40, of New Bedford, was brought from Bristol County Jail and House of Correction in Dartmouth to Rockingham County Department of Corrections in New Hampshire on Tuesday. He was arraigned in Hampton District Court on Wednesday on two felony counts of reckless conduct and one misdemeanor count of disobeying an officer.
According to New Hampshire State Police, Duarte was driving north in a Tesla on Interstate 95 in Hampton on the night of Nov. 27 and entered the parking lot of the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlet on the same side of the highway, which was closed. He drove through the parking lot before getting back onto the highway going the wrong direction at about 11:45 p.m.
Less than one minute later, New Hampshire state troopers saw the Tesla headed south on the north side of the road. New Hampshire police tried to stop the driver, followed by members of Massachusetts State Police after he crossed the border between the two states.
- Read more: Driver went wrong way on I-95 for 13 miles before crash that killed Endicott College sgt.
In Newbury, the car struck another vehicle head-on, killing the driver, Jeremy Cole, 49, of Exeter, New Hampshire. Cole was a sergeant with the Endicott College Police Department in Beverly, Massachusetts and was on his way home from work at the time.
Duarte was also injured in the crash and was brought to the hospital for treatment.
Medical records showed his blood alcohol level at 0.19%, MassLive previously reported. The legal limit in Massachusetts is 0.08%.
Police also found marijuana in the car and a burnt smell of marijuana.
In Massachusetts, Duarte was charged with motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of liquor, operating recklessly, manslaughter, and motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, in addition to civil motor vehicle infractions for driving in the wrong direction on a state highway, speeding and marked lane violations.
