Massachusetts Dad Charged With Manslaughter After Crashing Vehicle, Losing Toddler Son In Nearby Brook: Police

A Massachusetts man lost his 2-year-old son in a brook after fleeing the scene of a car crash and now he's charged with manslaughter after the boy died from “drowning injuries,” according to authorities.

Around 2:00 a.m. on April 8, officers responded to a motor vehicle crash in Clarksburg, according to Massachusetts State Police. First responders arrived on the scene and learned a young child who had been in the vehicle was unaccounted for.

Darel Galorenzo, 35, the driver and the toddler’s father, was present in the area of the Hudson Brook. First responders started searching the waters for the boy, officials said.

Around 2:20 a.m., the young child was found in the brook and medics started emergency first-aid for “drowning injuries,” police said. The child was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Troopers on the scene said they observed Galorenzo was possibly intoxicated. He was taken to the hospital for minor injuries, and he was was examined and discharged, according to officials.

A trooper took Galorenzo to Cheshire Barracks, where he remains in custody after police determined he was operating under the influence.

Galorenzo told police he took his son driving because the child could not sleep and was coughing. He claimed ice caused the crash and his son ran from the scene and into the stream, WBTS reported.

Officers believe Galorenzo may have fallen and lost his grip on the child while trying to make his way through the brook, which they described as being “frigid” and having a “swift current,” according to WBTS.

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Galorenzo was charged with manslaughter, as well as operating under the influence, reckless endangerment of a child and negligent operation of a motor vehicle, authorities said.

He is being held on $250,000 bail.