Hi-Way Safety Systems, the Rockland-based company, said in a statement issued Friday that it terminated Goodsell. The company said he violated multiple company policies, including repeatedly driving a company vehicle for personal use and having alcohol in the vehicle.
“Early on December 29, the employee was told by co-workers to relinquish the keys to the company vehicle. He avoided that demand and again without authorization operated the vehicle,” the company stated. “As a result of these violations and the tragedy that then occurred, his employment has been terminated.”
Hi-Way Safety Systems did not say when it became aware that Goodsell refused to hand over the keys or other details about his employment, which have come under scrutiny since the fatal crash.
The company said it would cooperate with authorities and state agencies, but that it would issue no more public comments.
Goodsell, 31, of Marshfield crashed his work-issued pickup truck into a white Subaru early Sunday morning in Pembroke, killing 13-year-old Claire Zisserson. A 50-year-old woman, reportedly her mother, and 13-year-old Kendall Zemotel, her friend, were severely injured in the crash.
Family and friends are planning to attend a vigil for Zisserson Sunday night in Plymouth’s Brewster Gardens.
Authorities said Goodsell was drunk and was under the influence of cocaine at the time of the crash.
Goodsell was charged with manslaughter while driving under the influence, two counts of driving while under the influence causing serious bodily injury, possession of an open container of alcohol in a car and several other motor vehicle offenses, according to the Plymouth District Attorney’s office.
The state Registry of Motor Vehicles suspended his license, listing him as an “immediate threat,” his driving record states.
Goodsell, who obtained his license in 2004, has had two crashes, three speeding violations and two violations for failure to stop or yield, among other infractions, according to his driver record.
Hi-Way Safety Systems, a subcontractor and contractor with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, has come under scrutiny since the crash for hiring Goodsell. An online petition has called on MassDOT to revoke current and future contracts with the company.
“We are saddened by this tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim. MassDOT is extremely disappointed to learn of the circumstances surrounding this incident,” the MassDOT statement reads.
Hi-Way Safety Systems has 160 employees and conducts business throughout New England and in New York, the company said.
“We join the community in mourning the loss of such a young life and in offering our deepest thoughts and support for the other victims as they recover,” the company said.
