UXBRIDGE, Massachusetts — In the quiet hours before dawn on Wednesday, a town lost a protector and a family lost a husband and father. Officer Stephen LaPorta, 43, was killed while helping a stranded motorist on the northbound lanes of Route 146 near mile marker 5.6, a busy stretch of highway that had turned dangerously slick with ice.
LaPorta was on duty just after midnight when he pulled over to assist a driver whose vehicle had broken down in the freezing conditions. State and local police say that as he stood outside his cruiser, a tractor-trailer struck him. Emergency crews performed life-saving efforts at the scene, but LaPorta died from his injuries.
Friends and fellow officers described LaPorta as a steady, loyal presence in Uxbridge. He had fulfilled his dream of becoming a full-time patrol officer in June 2024 after years serving as a dispatcher for the department. Colleagues say he brought calm and kindness to every shift, always ready with a steady voice and a ready hand.
Chief Marc Montminy called his death “a devastating loss for our department and our community,” noting that LaPorta’s decision to stop and help in dangerous conditions showed the kind of courage police officers are asked to show every day. Flags across the state have been ordered at half-staff in his honor by Governor Maura Healey.
The tractor-trailer driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital, authorities said. The motorist LaPorta was helping escaped without serious harm. The Massachusetts State Police, with help from Uxbridge officers and the Worcester District Attorney’s office, are investigating the crash.
In Uxbridge, a small community of about 14,000 people, grief has spread quickly. Black bunting now drapes the police department’s entrance, and neighbors have been leaving flowers and notes of sympathy. Fellow officers from across the region lined Route 146 in a solemn procession as LaPorta’s body was taken to the medical examiner.
LaPorta is survived by his wife and their 13-year-old child. People who knew him say he was a devoted family man who balanced the demands of police work with being present for his loved ones. In a moment that captured the heartbreak of the night, radio transmissions show fellow officers calling for him after the crash, only to receive no reply.
