‘Talented & selfless’: Family, friends mourn the loss of National Grid worker killed in hit-and-run

WALTHAM, Mass. — A National Grid worker who was killed Wednesday when a hit-and-driver barreled into a worksite in Waltham is being remembered by family and colleagues as a “talented, selfless, and highly respected” man.

“It’s backwards,” said Jakigh Dottin, a longtime neighbor of the 36-year-old victim. “You go into the day thinking, ‘It’s a new day,’ and some tragedy like that just happens.”

Roderick Jackson of Cambridge was working with a National Grid team on Totten Pond Road when prosecutors say 54-year-old Peter Simon, of New Hampshire, veered his pickup truck into the work area, hitting and killing him, as well as 58-year-old Waltham officer Paul Tracey.

After Simon was arraigned Thursday in Waltham District Court on manslaughter charges, Norma Asprilla, the mother of Jackson, expressed great devastation to learn of her son’s death.

Roderick Jackson, National Grid (Family photo)

“We can never replace him. Behind bars, he [Simon] has life. I don’t have my son. He took our treasure chest. Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable,” Asprilla said.

Manuel Asprilla-Hassan, Jackson’s brother, called his sibling the “heart of the family.”

“I’ll tell you right now he was a legend. He was the heart of this family, of this entire family. That’s who he was,” Asprilla-Hassan said. “Anybody who knows him, the most selfless man ever, ever. The most selfless man. He was more than just my brother, he was my father. That’s the heart of this family, that’s what was taken from us.”

His family also says he played basketball at Framingham State University, helped local hospitals, and even ran his own laundromat.

“Everybody loves this man,” Dottin added. “He’ll go out of his way to do things for you that most people wouldn’t do.”

The utility company said Jackson had been working as a technician on the gas operations team since early 2021.

“He was a highly respected, talented, and selfless teammate who worked extremely hard, took on extra duties, and had built strong friendships with members of his team,” a National Grid spokesperson said in a statement. “He was always willing to lend a hand, roll up his sleeves, and help a colleague. His loss is deeply felt throughout the company, and he will be sorely missed.”

Two other National Grid workers were hospitalized with injuries suffered in the crash. They have since been released.

Waltham police officer killed, gas worker seriously injured in hit-and-run crash, sources say (Peter Lobo)

Waltham Police Chief Kevin O’Connell remembered Tracey as an “amazing” father and husband who served his department and the city with “great distinction.”

Simon is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Dec. 14.

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