Trooper and father of six killed in Charlton crash on Mass Pike

Massachusetts State Police were mourning the loss of one of their own Wednesday following the death of a trooper and father of six in a crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Thomas Clardy, 44, died following a highway traffic stop in Charlton, south of Worcester, Col. Richard McKeon, the force’s superintendent, announced in a Wednesday afternoon news conference.

His fellow officers are “devastated for their loss,” McKeon said.

Clardy had been working an “accident reduction” shift on the highway when he pulled over a driver around noon Wednesday, McKeon said. He sustained serious injuries when his vehicle was struck by another driver who had been traveling at full speed and traveled across three lanes of traffic, McKeon said. Clardy was later pronounced dead at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester.

The driver, 30-year-old David Njuguna of Webster was also injured in the crash. He faces charges for negligent operation of a motor vehicle, McKeon said, adding that an investigation is still underway and that further charges may be filed.

Clardy is survived by his wife and six children, ages 4-17, McKeon said.

“Today we pray for him and we pray for them,” McKeon said.

A veteran of the Marines, Clardy joined the State Police force in 2005.