Even as residents still await information on the hit and run death of Charles O. “Chucky” Burrill Jr. nearly a year ago downtown, police have completed its separate investigation of last May’s death of 72-year-old pedestrian Robert N. Bergeron on Kenoza Avenue.
Officials say the nature of such extensive investigations takes time.
Thirty-five-year-old Brandon Isenberg, 3 Maple Ave., No. 9, Haverhill, is to appear in Haverhill District Court Feb. 3 for a pretrial hearing. After an investigation which concluded in October, Haverhill and State Police found Isenberg’s car struck Bergeron, of 25 Edgehill Road, Haverhill. Isenberg was summonsed into court and charged with motor vehicle homicide by negligence.
“It is the opinion of (State Police) Trooper (Timothy) Sova that the collision between Isenberg and his 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan and Bergeron was avoidable had Isenberg been reasonably attentive to Bergeron as a pedestrian in the roadway,” according to a report by Haverhill Police Sgt. Kevin F. Lynch.
While Isenberg was at the accident scene when police arrived, he acknowledged he heard a “thud” while driving, but was not immediately aware he had struck Bergeron. He told police, he turned around and returned to the accident scene.
The police investigation involved assessing evidence strewn about the roadway, reviewing video surveillance from a nearby liquor store, an autopsy and toxicology report and attempt to collect data from Isenberg’s car airbag module
Charles O. “Chucky” Burrill Jr. (Courtesy photograph.)
This week, Carrie Kimball, spokeswoman for Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett, said there are a number of reasons why police cannot make immediate arrests. She was asked specifically about Burrill’s death.
“There is a lot of testing—autopsies, black box, etc. All of that takes time and there are numerous investigations throughout the state utilizing the same resources to obtain the test results, so there are delays,” she told WHAV.