Beverly Driver May Have Fallen Asleep At Wheel Before Striking Trooper

A Beverly man who was operating the pickup truck that struck a state police cruiser early Wednesday morning on Rte. I-95 in Canton will be cited for operating to endanger and marked lanes violation, according to a statement from the Massachusetts State Police. 

Investigation suggests Ricardo Lepe, 35, of Beverly, may have fallen asleep at the wheel. 

Trooper Kenneth Downey, 27, had been in his 2006 Ford Crown Victoria marked cruiser protecting a paving detail on Rte. 95 South, near Exit 11 in Canton near the the Norwood line, when his vehicle was struck by a 2003 Ford F150 pickup operated by Lepe. 

Downey, who is assigned to Troop H, was released from Boston Medical Center after examination and tests Wednesday morning. Downey had to be extricated from his vehicle by Canton firefighters after the accident Wednesday, according to state police. 

"He was conscious and alert but was in pain and was transported by EMS to Boston Medical Center for examination," the release states.

Lepe was transported to Norwood Hospital with minor injuries, as were his passengers, a 67-year-old man and a 35-year-old man. 

"The incident was yet another example of the dangers troopers face protecting the state’s roadways," according to Wednesday's statement by State Police. "The State Police, furthermore, remind the motoring public that driving while overly fatigued can be as dangerous as driving while impaired."