PEMBROKE, Mass. — More charges, including OUI and disorderly conduct, have surfaced in police reports connected to a holiday party that may have led to two deaths.
A fatal car crash, allegedly caused by another drunk driver, and a man found unresponsive at a nearby motel started what has become a complicated and tragic story.
While it’s unclear if those incidents are connected, investigators are working to piece together what happened following a company holiday party for Hi-Way Safety Systems on Dec. 28 that continued into the early-morning hours of Dec. 29.
The party started at the Pembroke Knights of Columbus Hall and reportedly ended at someone’s house. Police say upon leaving the party, Gregory Goodsell, 31, a Hi-Way Safety Systems employee, ran a red light at 7 a.m., crashing into a car with three people inside.
One of those people was Claire Zisserson, a 13-year-old girl who was killed in the crash. Her friend, 13-year-old Kendall Zemotel, was seriously injured and remains in critical condition. The 50-year-old driver sustained some injuries, but is expected to recover.
Court documents indicate Goodsell was slurring his speech, had glassy, blood-shot eyes, and smelled of alcohol when an officer arrived. He allegedly told police, “I know I shouldn’t have been driving...I can’t believe I did this...I drank way too much, I’m so sorry,” according to documents. He also admitted to using cocaine on Saturday night and into the early morning hours Sunday before driving.
The same morning of the crash, one of Goodsell’s co-workers was found unresponsive inside a Rockland motel. Officers found Joseph Amaral unresponsive with blood in his mouth and bruising on his forehead. Police say they administered Narcan and began CPR before Amaral was rushed to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
Additional employees arrested after attending party
Boston 25 News has learned another employee of Hi-Way Safety Systems, Omar Calderon, of Flushing, NY, was arrested at the hotel as officers were investigating Amaral’s condition. Police say Calderon, 31, told them he and Amaral had been at the Hi-Way Safety Systems holiday party where a fight had broken out.
[Timeline of a holiday tragedy in Pembroke]
Calderon refused to give further information and was arrested, police said. He has been charged with disorderly conduct after those officers said he raised his voice and refused to sit down.
Earlier that morning, a second Hi-Way Safety Systems employee was arrested for OUI in Hanover.
A Hanover police report details the arrest of Francis Paiva, of Halifax, who was found on the side of the road around 3:20 a.m. next to a vehicle arguing with a woman.
Police say the woman confirmed the pair had left a holiday party in Pembroke. After police say he failed a field sobriety test, Paiva was arrested and charged with OUI-liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and driving in possession of an open container.
While no charges have been filed against the company, Hi-Way Safety Systems has been indefinitely barred from bidding on any Massachusetts Department of Transportation contracts.
According to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office, the level of liability Hi-Way Safety Systems and its owners will face criminally is still under investigation.
At this point, officials say, Hi-Way Safety Systems’ only recourse would be to appeal the ruling, but as of Monday that hadn’t happened.
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Timeline of a holiday tragedy in Pembroke
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13-year-old Pembroke crash victim identified, driver charged with manslaughter OUI