Crime & Safety

Trial Scheduled for Wayland Native Accused in State Trooper's Death

William Senne is facing vehicular homicide charges in the death of State Trooper Ellen Engelhardt.

Wayland High School graduate William Senne has already served time after admitting to being drunk when he struck State Trooper Ellen Engelhardt's cruiser in 2003, causing injuries from which Engelhardt never recovered.

When Engelhardt died in 2011, the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office brought charges of vehicular homicide against Senne. He pleaded not guilty in September 2011 to charges of motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of liquor with recklessness and motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol.

Senne's trial will begin May 15, a date set during a Wednesday hearing in a Plymouth Superior Court, according to a Boston.com report.

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Since Senne was released from jail in 2007, he has earned a college degree and founded a successful real estate business in Cambridge, according to a Boston Globe article.

Senne told the Globe that he knows these new charges are serious.

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"I'm terrified," he told the Globe. "This has the potential to destroy what I look at as years of trying to live a good life out of respect for the pain I’ve caused.


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