Off-duty Mass. firefighter killed in ATV crash

Firefighter Randy Pouliot, a 16-year member of the department, was found in the woods with the all-terrain vehicle on top of him

September 23, 2019 11:42 AM

By Scott J. Croteau
MassLive.com, Springfield, Mass.

ASHBURNHAM, Mass. — The Leominster firefighters’ union identified Randy Pouliot, a 16-year member of the department, as the victim in a fatal ATV crash in Ashburnham Saturday night.

“The Chief of the Department regrets to announce the death of Firefighter Randy Pouliot, Group 1, Engine 3, Driver,” Leominster Firefighters Local 1841 wrote on Facebook. “Randy was involved in an ATV accident last night, near his home in the Gardner, Ashburnham area and pronounced dead at the scene.”

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Pouliot, 52, of Gardner, previously worked for the Gardner Fire Department.

Timothy Connolly, spokesman for the Worcester District Attorney’s Office, said the victim of the all-terrain vehicle crash was discovered Saturday around 11:55 p.m. in the woods in Ashburnham.

The district attorney’s office did not publicly identify the victim.

Connolly said the victim was at a barbecue at the West End Beagle Club in Gardner earlier in the day. He didn’t come home.

A friend went out to look for the victim and discovered him in the woods just off a cart path. The ATV was on top of the victim, the district attorney’s office said.

Connolly said the death appears to be a fatal crash. The crash site was in Ashburnham, not far from the Gardner line, and not far from Kelton Street.

“The Leominster Fire Department would like to thank the firefighters, EMS personnel and police officers who responded to the scene and cared for Randy,” the union wrote. “Thank you also, to all who have reached out to our members with their condolences.”

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