"Heroes Live Forever"--the story of Billerica (MA) Patrolman Thomas Strunk

McLean, VA (July 16, 2024) - The date was March 27, 1985. Patrolman Thomas Strunk of the Billerica (MA) Police Department was off duty and running some errands with his wife, Nancy, and their three young sons. They were on their way home when Tom spotted a car ahead of them swerving all over the road. Suspecting that the driver was drunk and posed a serious threat to others on the roadway, Tom pulled the driver over. When Tom approached the man’s car and told the driver to step out of his vehicle, the man immediately tried to flee. Tom reached into the car to shut the engine off and take away the keys. But the man rolled up his window, trapping Tom’s arm. With Tom’s wife and sons watching in horror, the man then sped off, dragging the three-year police veteran alongside at speeds reaching 55 miles per hour and then slamming him into a pole. Tom died less than an hour later. Nancy and her sons were left to cling to the memories of a wonderful husband and father—a man who died doing the job he loved.