Thursday, 4:30 PM
No charges to be filed in Methuen fence collapse fatality
By Globe Staff
Essex County prosecutors say there won't be any criminal charges filed in the case of an 11-year-old boy who died yesterday when a heavy metal gate fell on him at a Methuen school.
An investigation by local and state police determined that "there is no criminal culpability against any party in this accident," the Essex district attorney's office said today in a statement.
Timothy DiLeo died in the accident at the Tenney Grammar School. His eight-year-old brother, Andrew, was transported to Children's Hospital in Boston for treatment of his injuries. He was in fair condition today. Steven DiLeo, 13, was uninjured, and Brandon LaPorte, 13, suffered a minor leg injury, prosecutors said.
The investigation found that the gate was not on its hinges, but was instead leaning against a wall. It fell under the weight of the two boys climbing it, prosecutors said.
