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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com
— MARTIN LUTHER KING JR
FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016
VOL. 85 NO. 12
“A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.” 75 cents
Russell home a total loss after fire By AMY PORTER Correspondent RUSSELL – A house at 27 West Main Street in Russell was engulfed in flames at 8 p.m. Thursday evening. Fire departments from Russell, Chester, Huntington and Westfield were on the scene, along with the Hilltown Community Ambulance and the State Police. Route 20 was closed due to fire hoses across the road, and cars were being diverted to Carrington Road. According to neighbors, Bridget Baker, 35, who lives in the home, escaped unharmed with her boyfriend and called 911 from the Russell Package store on the corner of West Main Street and Route 20. By 10 p.m. the fire was out, according to Trooper McClintock at the Russell State Police barracks, although firefighters were still on the scene, and Route 20 had been reopened to one lane of traffic. McClintock said the house was believed to be a total loss. West Springfield Police make a traffic stop along the dangerous area of Route 20 on Monday.
(Photo by Christine
Charnosky)
Dangerous section of Route 20 claimed 3 lives in 2 weeks ACCIDENT DATA
Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe provided the following information regarding calls pertaining to accidents on Springfield Road (between the bridge at Union Street and the West Springfield line) [Note: calls mean there was an incident, which may or may not have been a reportable accident]:
House burning on West Main Street in Russell on Thursday evening at approximately 8:20 p.m. (Photo by Amy Porter)
NUMBER OF CALLS
By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Route 20 near the West Springfield line has been plagued by accidents, including three fatal collisions since Christmas eve. The area of concern is a one and a half-mile stretch of Route 20 (Springfield Road/Westfield Street) in the area between Walmart, located at 141 Springfield Road in Westfield, to Frasco Fuel Oil, located at 2383 Westfield St. in West Springfield. This entire stretch of highway hugs the Westfield River. On Christmas eve around 6:30 p.m. Daniel E. Drexler 54, of West Springfield crossed the center line and struck another vehicle head-on. Drexler died a short time later. The two occupants of the other vehicle sustained non-life-threatening injuries. This accident occurred in Westfield near Walmart/ East Mountain Road. On January 8 around 4:45 p.m., Jeff Martell, 50, of Northampton and Benjamin Stulpin, 24, of Springfield, crashed head-on, killing both drivers. This occurred in West Springfield near Frasco Fuel Oil. A few minutes later on January 8 just before 5 p.m. twovehicles crashed and one rolled over entrapping the driver near Deals 4 Wheels, located at 115 Springfield Road in Westfield. Both drivers suffered minor injuries. On January 9 around 10 p.m., a vehicle struck a utility pole sending two people to the hospital, according to West Springfield police logs and WWLP. This occurred near the Riverbend Sunoco, located at 2668 Westfield Street, in West Springfield, just outside of Westfield. According to the Westfield police logs, there have been 17 accidents between November 13 and January 10 along or near this stretch of Route 20. Eight of these were considered major accidents, means damage of $1,000 or more, said Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe. Of those 17 reported incidents, the majority–10–occurred between 1-5 p.m. with only one occurring as early as 10 a.m. and one as late as 10 p.m. There were none overnight. Trooper Paul Sullivan of the Massachusetts State Police said he could not provide a cause for the deadly accidents that occurred on December 24 and January 8. Additionally, the local police departments could not provide information regarding what may have caused those collisions that claimed the lives of three drivers.
Court clears way for third Rintala murder trial
Route 20 in Westfield near the West Springfield line where three fatal crashes have ocurred since Christmas eve. (Photo by Christine Charnosky) McCabe said there are two lanes traveling east and two lanes traveling west with no divider. “Speed, medical issues (voluntary or involuntary) and lack of attention are the usual suspects in accidents along that stretch of road,” said McCabe. “The speed limit is 40 miles per hour, so if two cars crash traveling at that speed, you have an impact of 80 miles per hour,” he said. West Springfield police have beefed up patrols and traffic stops for speeding along that stretch of Route 20, according to the West Springfield police logs. “We have no extra patrols because that area is already
Map shows the dangerous section of Route 20 in Westfield and West Springfield.
See Route 20, Page 3
By DAN CROWLEY Daily Hampshire Gazette NORTHAMPTON — The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled Thursday that a third murder trial can proceed against Cara Rintala, who is accused of strangling her wife, Annamarie Rintala, to death in March 2010 in their Granby home. The decision comes three days after the court heard oral arguments in Boston by Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven E. Gagne and Rintala’s defense attorney, David P. Hoose of Northampton. The ruling came quickly by SJC standards. Justices typically deliver opinions within 130 days of hearing oral arguments and decisions often take months. “The speed of the ruling was a surprise and a pleasant one at that,” Gagne stated in an email to the Gazette. In its concise, two-page opinion, the Supreme Judicial Court wrote that “the evidence against Rintala was sufficient to permit the jury to conclude that she strangled the victim in the basement of their house.” The parties are due back in court on Jan. 27 at which time prosecutors intend to ask the court to schedule the case for a third trial. Gagne said the district attorney’s office will push for a trial this year. Cara Rintala has pleaded not guilty to a charge of firstdegree murder, maintaining she was running errands with her daughter when her wife was killed. She has been free on $150,000 bail since February 2014 and must remain in western Massachusetts as part of her bail conditions. She was tried twice for first-degree murder (in 2013 and 2014), though juries deadlocked both times when they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Hoose had appealed to the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that it was barred by double jeopardy principles because the evidence presented at Rintala’s second trial was insufficient to sustain a conviction. The appeal earlier was denied by Hampshire Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup who presided over both trials See Murder Trial, Page 3