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Christopher Zike

Age : 51

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 10/29/2021

Location : Interstate 93 South near Freeport Street

City : Boston

County : Suffolk

State : Massachusetts

Agency : Massachusetts State Police

Officer(s) :Kristopher Carr

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Motorcycle driver killed by police vehicle crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 10/29/2021, at approximately 1:25 a.m., off-duty Massachusetts State Police Trooper Kristopher Carr was driving a 2020 Ford Explorer southbound on Interstate 93 near Freeport Street in Dorchester after a night of drinking with his girlfriend. Witness statements and surveillance video from several establishments later established that Carr had consumed numerous alcoholic drinks. His girlfriend told investigators he drank one cocktail at Pier 6 in Charlestown, two or three drinks at a South Boston restaurant and three additional drinks at another establishment.
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While driving in the far-left lane, Carr leaned toward his girlfriend to kiss her, swerved and struck the median barrier. The impact deployed the Explorer's airbags and left the disabled SUV positioned across the two leftmost travel lanes of I-93. Carr and his girlfriend got out of the vehicle.
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Christopher Zike was riding his motorcycle to his 2:00 a.m. shift at IKEA in Stoughton when he encountered Carr's disabled SUV blocking the interstate. Zike struck the Explorer and was thrown from his motorcycle. Emergency personnel transported him to Boston Medical Center, where he died from his injuries. Carr and his girlfriend suffered minor injuries.
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Christopher had previously worked for the Museum of Science and Boston Children's Museum and had studied archaeology, including traveling to excavations in Peru. He was deeply involved in his adopted community of Winthrop and was a founding member and treasurer of Winthrop Loves Trees. He personally helped establish a garden at the Winthrop Senior Center and advocated for trees, parks and public green space.
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Christopher's brother said he was especially close to his niece, who knew him as the “fun uncle.” His partner, Philip Deal, described him as one of the most decent people he had ever known. Friends remembered Christopher as funny, hardworking and unusually committed to quietly improving his community without seeking recognition.
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TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES:
1 Fatality, 2 Minor Injuries.
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EYEWITNESS OR FAMILY STATEMENTS:
Christopher's brother described him at Carr's eventual sentencing as a good and fun person who was deeply invested in Winthrop. Friends emphasized the bitter circumstances of his death: Christopher was simply traveling to an overnight work shift when he encountered an interstate obstruction created by an intoxicated off-duty trooper.
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DISPOSITION:
Massachusetts State Police arrested Carr on the day of the crash and immediately relieved him of duty. Carr had graduated from the Massachusetts State Police Academy only approximately one week earlier and was still a probationary trooper assigned to the Westfield Barracks. State Police subsequently fired him.
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A Suffolk County grand jury indicted Carr for motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol. On 07/16/2025, Carr pleaded guilty to motor vehicle homicide. Judge Mary Ames sentenced him to 2½ years in the House of Correction, with 18 months to serve and the remaining 12 months suspended for three years. His driver's license was suspended for 15 years, and he was ordered to undergo substance-abuse evaluation and any recommended treatment.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Kristopher Carr's law-enforcement history makes this case particularly significant. Before joining Massachusetts State Police, Carr had been a Springfield Police Department officer. In 2018, while serving with Springfield Police, Carr was one of the officers involved in the detention of Sterling Lester Chest during a mental-health emergency. Federal court records establish that Carr arrived while other officers were struggling to place the handcuffed Chest into a police cruiser; Carr kneed Chest and pushed him into the cruiser. Chest subsequently died, and his estate later named Carr and three other Springfield officers as defendants in a federal civil-rights lawsuit. That litigation was still producing federal court rulings in 2026.
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Carr subsequently joined Massachusetts State Police and graduated from its academy approximately one week before killing Christopher Zike. On the night of the fatal crash, prosecutors established that Carr consumed numerous alcoholic drinks before driving and then crashed while attempting to kiss his girlfriend. Detectives who encountered Carr at Massachusetts General Hospital reported that his eyes were glassy and his speech was impaired. State Police fired him following the crash.
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The consequences for Carr's law-enforcement career continued years after his criminal case. Following his 2025 conviction, Massachusetts POST proceedings found that State Police had terminated him for disciplinary reasons involving conduct unbecoming a trooper and failure to conform to laws. In April 2026, the commission revoked his law-enforcement certification for life.
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LITIGATION:
Christopher Zike's death resulted in Carr's criminal prosecution, conviction and incarceration. Separately, Carr remains a named defendant in federal civil-rights litigation arising from his earlier Springfield Police encounter with Sterling Lester Chest.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wcvb.com/article/ex-state-trooper-indicted-in-oui-crash-that-killed-motorcyclist/41527075
https://www.wcvb.com/article/off-duty-massachusetts-state-police-trooper-facing-charges-in-fatal-crash-sources-tell-5-investigates/38103493
https://www.suffolkdistrictattorney.com/press-releases/items/2022/8/18/former-trooper-indicted-in-crash-that-killed-motorcyclist
https://www.suffolkdistrictattorney.com/press-releases/items/2025/7/16/monson-man-pleads-guilty-in-2021-motor-vehicle-homicide
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2025/07/16/former-state-trooper-pleads-guilty-to-2021-motor-vehicle-homicide-in-boston/
https://whdh.com/news/mass-state-trooper-arraigned-on-oui-homicide-charges-in-crash-that-left-motorcyclist-dead/
https://whdh.com/news/huge-loss-winthrop-man-killed-in-crash-involving-off-duty-trooper-was-dedicated-to-bettering-community-friends-say/
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/10/29/metro/off-duty-mass-state-police-trooper-arrested-connection-with-fatal-crash/
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/17/metro/former-state-trooper-pleads-guilty-fatal-2021-crash/
https://www.treewinthrop.org/
https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/massachusetts/madce/3%3A2023cv30034/255095/83/