Authorities continue search for suspect who fled scene of New Bedford crash

March 28, 2019 1:21 pm

By News Staff

Email: news@abc6.com

Twitter: @ABC6

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) – Police and a fugitive unit were on scene in New Bedford Thursday morning at the site of a fatal accident occurring Wednesday morning, attempting to locate a suspect that fled the scene.

Janet Murphy, a 68-year-old New Bedford woman was killed in the crash which started as a police chase in Fairhaven.

The second victim, Kyle Murphy, 28, is in critical condition at RI hospital.

The suspect, 21-year-old James Bennett-Werra is still on the run after fleeing the scene.

Officers swarmed the apartment complex on the corner of the intersection after receiving a tip that the suspect in the crash was hiding inside.

Resident Norman Veenstra said he was awoken Thursday morning by Police as they searched his home.

“I’m not okay with what happened yesterday, for two innocent people”, said Veenstra. “I would never hide somebody like that. And for [Police] to wake me up and go through my house without a warrant, no reason, to search for somebody who I tried helping them find is just not okay with me.”

Veenstra, who has lived in the area for years, says he saw the two suspects take off on foot immediately following the crash.

“Police sat them on the wall over there,” said Veenstra. “The officer came over to help us, and when he walked away, they got up and ran.”

Thursday morning’s search turned up no new clues for police.

Some neighbors are upset with the way police handled the situation, saying they should not have been chasing the suspects through that part of town.

“I’d like it if police stopped chasing people thru here”, said resident Donald Lafreniere. “It’s a very congested area and puts a lot of people at risk.”

Lafreniere lives just a couple of buildings down from the scene, and said his front porch was taken down 3 months earlier after another police chase resulted in a car crashing into his home.

New Bedford Police have no new information on the search efforts available at this time.