New Hampshire Man Killed by Tree Falling on Truck in Lenox

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:45PM / Wednesday, July 13, 2022Print Story | Email Story

LENOX, Mass. — A New Hampshire man was killed during a severe thunderstorm on Tuesday when a tree fell on his truck.

Police Sgt. Michael Smith and Officer Tyler Bosworth were dispatched at a about 5:20 p.m. to a report of a tree on a vehicle in the area of Fox Hollow Road, south of Old Stockbridge Road on Route 7.

Police reported that a 2020 Ford F-150 pickup truck has been traveling in the southbound lane when a "very large" tree fell into the travel lane and landed on the vehicle.

The operator, 56-year-old Darrin Cawthron of Derry, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was the only occupant in the truck.

There were no reported witnesses to the accident and no other vehicles were involved. Route 7 was closed for about five hours from the intersection of Summer Street in Lee to the intersection of Kemble and Plunkett Street in Lenox.

Several first responders assisted the Police Department including the Fire Department, Lee Police Department, the Stockbridge Police and Fire Departments, and Lee Ambulance.

The State Police Divisions of Investigative Services and Collison Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the Department of Transportation also provided assistance.

The accident remains under investigation but police say it appears that the cause of the crash was weather related.

At least 15 roads in the town had reported trees and wires down due to high winds from thunderstorms that broke across much of Southern Berkshire on Wednesday afternoon.

Tags: bad weather, fatal, MVI,

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Pittsfield Wants People to Know Where Free Public Wifi Is

By Brittany PolitoiBerkhshires Staff
04:46AM / Friday, September 18, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city wants it to be clear where people can connect to free public wifi— which expands beyond downtown.

On Tuesday, the Parks Commission approved "Free Wifi" signage at The Common, Riverway Park, and Durant Park. Community members can access the internet without charge in these locations, as well as in downtown areas.

Two years ago, Pittsfield received a $99,972 Digital Equity Implementation Grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. This allowed the city to take a comprehensive look at digital equity and determine where to focus attention.

"That was a lengthy process that we worked on, and there was a lot of public input. We did some surveying. We met with a lot of focus groups; [Berkshire Regional Planning Commission] was the group that spearheaded that for us, and one of the things that came up was the lack of accessible wifi," Director of Community Development Justine Dodds reported. "Particularly in the westside."

Throughout this process, residents also wanted to see connectivity at the nearby Westside Riverway Park.

In 2023, Pittsfield was selected to participate in the Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program launched by the state and MBI, focused on ensuring residents can use the internet to conduct day-to-day activities. A digital equity plan also qualifies Pittsfield for additional grant funding.

Around 16,000 city households qualified for the Federal Communications Commission's affordable internet program that ended in 2024.

Dodds said adding Wi-FI and signage to Durant and Riverway Parks is a small piece of the larger digital equity project. Signage is already downtown, and the city plans to hire the same designer for the expanded wayfinding so it is cohesive.

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