Anthony D. Cunningham with his six-year-old daughter, Natyllie. (Courtesy photograph.)
Update: Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett’s office confirmed Monday afternoon Anthony Cunningham, 25 Chestnut St., was the sole victim of the crash Saturday afternoon. WHAV released his name early Monday morning after talking with his family. His family has created a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses.
A family member told WHAV the man who died in Saturday’s crash in Haverhill was Anthony D. Cunningham, just days before his 26th birthday.
The family has not yet been allowed to identify the body, according to his only aunt, Melisa Cunningham of Haverhill. She said the she expects he will be formally identified later today in Boston. She said police were able to confirm the identity by matching receipts in his car to a store video where he shopped.
“I will be the first to say he may of made a bad choice wasn’t a bad kid. He was on his way home from work. No drugs or alcohol,” she said. “He would have been 26 this week on the seventh. If he wasn’t working he was fishing,” she said.
Cunningham crashed his car into a utility pole Saturday afternoon in Haverhill, after being pursued by Merrimac Police. He died about 8:20, Saturday night, a little more than four hours after the crash.
He was raised by his grandparents, Donald and Judy Cunningham, and lived his life in Haverhill and Bradford, his aunt said.
There was no official confirmation as of Sunday night from police or Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett’s office, according to Merrimac Police Chief Eric M. Shears. An investigation has begun.
“This is obviously an unfortunate outcome,” Shears said. “We are actively investigating and hope to learn more about the circumstances surrounding this incident as soon as possible.”
Merrimac Police said Cunningham fled from police after a traffic stop at about 4:05 p.m., Saturday, near 100 West Main St. He was stopped for allegedly driving with an expired registration. As the Merrimac officer approached the vehicle, the driver sped off. “The officer returned to his car and attempted to catch the vehicle as it fled onto Route 110 and into Haverhill,” Shears said.
The officer, who was unable to catch up to the driver, rounded a corner near the border on Atwood Road in Haverhill and found the vehicle crashed into a telephone pole.
why He fled for an expired registration which is a minor offense is puzzling. Just lucky he didn’t hit anyone else and injure them when he fled the cops.
We all make mistakes so please do not judge. We dont know what was going on through this young mans mind and this is a terribly tragic event.