IBEW Local 103 (Boston) Member Killed in Tragic Snowplow Accident

West Bridgewater dad killed by plow had planned move from busy road

By Elaine Allegrini, Enterprise staff writer

WEST BRIDGEWATER — Daniel Bellamy died Monday on the same heavily traveled street he and his wife, Susan, had feared was unsafe for their children.

The 34-year-old father of three — Cora, 4; Matthew, 2; and Lilah, 16 months — was struck and killed by a snowplow as he crossed West Street in front of his house to meet a co-worker for a ride to work as snow fell in the early-morning darkness.

"We had put an offer in on another house in the middle of the woods on a nice pond," Susan Bellamy, 30, said Monday afternoon. "We were afraid the kids would get hit by a car (on West Street)."

Bellamy, an electrician with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103, was headed to a job with Norfolk Electric of Quincy when he left the family's small Cape-style house at 5:15 a.m.

Police said he walked into the path of an SUV equipped with a plow that was headed to a private snow removal job. The vehicle belongs to CWB Construction of Manley Street.

The driver told police he thought he hit a deer, but when the vehicle came to a stop nearly 100 feet away, the victim was under the plow, police said.

Given the conditions of blowing snow and darkness, Lt. Raymund Rogers said, the driver will not be charged. He was identified as Stephen Leonard, 52, of 7 Clark Hill Drive, Easton.

Police seized the vehicle to determine whether there were any mechanical problems, Rogers said.

Bellamy was pronounced dead at the scene, and police hoped to protect his wife and children from the horror, Rogers said.

However, Susan Bellamy came outside after she received a call that her husband had not shown up for work. It was then she learned her husband had died.

"He was a born-again Christian, so I know where he is," she said later as family and friends gathered at her home in response to the tragedy.

"He was the best father; he was my best friend," she said. "He'd do anything for me."

In the hours after her husband's death, Bellamy spoke about the life she and her husband enjoyed with their children.

The couple met in 1995 when Susan worked at a nursing home, caring for Daniel's mother, who was a patient there, she said.

"He was from Dorchester. He was afraid of bugs and everything," she recalled.

He was to overcome those fears as the family turned to camping, walking in the woods and other outdoor activities, she said.

"We were always together wherever we went — he was really the only friend I needed," she said.

Now, she wonders about her future, saying she must remain strong for her children and look to her faith for that strength.

"He worked very hard so I could be a stay-at-home mom," she said. "I was supposed to home-school my kids. Now, I'm 30 years old and I'm a widow with three children."

Alice Flint, who lives nearby, said she woke up and saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles from her window.

Later, a neighbor would call to tell her that Bellamy, who had moved to the neighborhood five years ago with his wife, had been run down.

Members of IBEW Local 103 were also grieving Bellamy's death, said financial secretary Chuck Monahan.

Bellamy had been a union member for 12 years, first as an apprentice and for the past eight years as a journeyman, he said. Bellamy's brother, Tim Bellamy of Dorchester, is also a member of the union.

"Dan was a pretty active kid here," Monahan said. "He was an (apprentice) officer and he also ran for office in the local."

Funeral arrangements were not available Monday.

Elaine Allegrini can be reached at eallegrini@enterprisenews.com.