Driver In Crash That Killed Waltham Cop, National Grid Worker Indicted On Murder Charges

WALTHAM, MA — The driver in the December 2023 crash that killed Waltham police officer Paul Tracey and National Grid employee Roderick Jackson was indicted on murder charges this week.

Peter Simon, 54, of New Hampshire, was indicted by a Middlesex County grand jury on two charges of second-degree murder and others related to the Dec. 6 crash on Totten Pond Road in Waltham.

Simon was operating a pickup truck eastbound on Totten Pond Road in Waltham when he pulled to the side of the road and suddenly turned back into the roadway in an attempt to execute a U-turn, the Middlesex District Attorney said at the time.

He struck a vehicle traveling eastbound, then continued driving forward for approximately a quarter mile before fatally striking Tracey, of Waltham and Jackson, of Cambridge, officials said. An investigation and crash reconstruction found that Simon was "accelerating at full throttle", traveling around 63 miles per hour at the time of the crash.

After striking Tracey and Jackson, Simon continued on, striking multiple other vehicles before abandoning his truck and fleeing on foot, officials said. When he encountered another Waltham officer who had responded to the scene, Simon allegedly pulled a knife on them before stealing his police cruiser and again fleeing, officials said.

He crashed the cruiser on Winter Street, and fled once again. He was apprehended and arrested by a Waltham Police Officer after a brief foot chase.

Simon is being held without bail and will be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court on a yet-to-be-announced date.

The full list of charges include:

• Second-degree murder (two counts)
• Motor vehicle homicide (two counts)
• Armed robbery
• Armed carjacking
• Assault with a dangerous weapon (three counts)
• Larceny of a motor vehicle
• Operating to endanger (four counts)
• Leaving the scene causing property damage
• Leaving the scene causing death
• Failure to stop for police
• Wanton destruction of property
• Resisting arrest