‘I Think They Were In Shock': How Pittsfield Police Cracked a Fatal Hit-and-Run

When William Gross of Hancock was arraigned Wednesday for the fatal hit-and-run that killed 69-year-old William Colbert, it marked the end of an exhaustive investigation that showcases just how difficult these cases can be to solve.

Pittsfield Police Sgt. David Hallas joined us on the radio this morning to walk through the investigative process, and the level of detail work is staggering.

"Both a male and a female witnessed him getting hit, but I think they were in shock," Hallas explained. "We had a hard time getting any info on the vehicle. It was quite a big search to get any information on what type of car it was."

With little to go on from witness accounts, investigators turned to surveillance footage. They collected roughly 50 different videos from the area, a mountain of digital evidence that sounds promising until you realize most of it was grainy, black and white, or completely unusable.

That's where Officer Brandon Gallagher comes in. Hallas made a point of crediting Gallagher, who's been on the traffic unit for four or five years, for the breakthrough work on this case.

"He spent a lot of time on this," Hallas said. "Once he got it narrowed down to model and make, he searched that type of car in Pittsfield, Richmond, and Hancock. He noticed an address in Hancock that matched. We ended up checking it out and sure enough, that ended up being the vehicle."

Getting to that point required hours of online detective work - Google searches, frame-by-frame video analysis, matching pixelated images to vehicle databases. Gallagher eventually identified it as a late 2000s Honda Civic, then systematically searched registration records across three towns until he found a match.

Hallas also gave credit to detectives Billy King and John Bassi for their work on the case.

It's the kind of police work that doesn't make for flashy TV drama — just patient, methodical, around-the-clock effort to bring justice for William Colbert and his family.

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE BERKSHIRE DA'S OFFICE

On February 18^th, William Gross was arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court on the following charges:

• Leave Scene of a Person Resulting in Injury or Death
• Negligent Motor Vehicle Homicide

The Defendant is being held on $250,000 cash bail. He will next appear at Central Berkshire District Court on February 25^th.

On February 10^th at approximately 11:33pm, Pittsfield Police responded to two 911 calls reporting that a person appeared to have fallen down in the road in the area of Francis Street and Linden Street and was in need of assistance. When officers arrived, the person, later identified as William Colbert (69 years old: Pittsfield), was gone. Officers began to search the area, at the same time receiving information from a witness that the victim may have been struck by a vehicle and dragged down the roadway. Pittsfield police began to canvas the area and deployed a heat seeking drone but were unable to locate the victim.

 At approximately 11:49pm, dispatch received two 911 calls reporting a person lying in the roadway in front of the Best Western, 1350 West Housatonic Street, about 3 miles from the original police response. Both reporting parties observed that the person appeared to have been struck by a vehicle. Pittsfield Fire Department responded to the scene at 11:55pm with Action Ambulance and Pittsfield Police responding shortly after. Emergency responders observed injuries on the victim consistent with being dragged under a vehicle for lengthy distance.  At that time, police were unable to locate the vehicle involved in the suspected hit and run.

Pittsfield Police began an extensive search of the area. Over the coming days, they successfully secured multiple video surveillance footage from local businesses and private residences that traced the route of the vehicle. Due to the angle and quality of the surveillance footage shared with law enforcement, police made out the make, model, and color of the vehicle involved, but could not make out a license plate number. They began a search for vehicles that matched the one that was identified in the hit and run. Police began a more detailed search into the cars on the list. On February 16^th, Pittsfield Police went to 227 Lebanon Mountain Road, Hancock, to inquire about a vehicle matching the description of the one in the February 10^th hit and run. The vehicle was registered to William Gross.

Mr. Gross allowed police to search his car and consented to an interview. He reported leaving work in Pittsfield around 11:30pm on February 10^th and driving a route consistent to the one being investigated. The vehicle demonstrated damage consistent with one being involved in the hit and run.

The Defendant was brought into Pittsfield Police custody for questioning. He was later transferred to Berkshire Medical Center for health concerns unrelated to the accident or being brought into custody.

District Attorney Shugrue commented, “This case would have been much more difficult to solve had it not been for the tremendous support and cooperation of the Pittsfield community.” He continued, “I commend Pittsfield police for the investigative work. They were able to locate the suspect in, less than a week. In rural areas like the Berkshires, and a county that directly boarders New York, it is not always easy to find people, never mind find them quickly. My thoughts are with Mr. Colbert’s family in this tragic death.”

The Pittsfield Police Department was the lead law enforcement agency. They received support from the Massachusetts’s State Police Crime Lab.