The state must suspend its investigation into the
Hopkinton house explosion that killed two young girls, a Worcester judge
ruled yesterday.
Judge Leila Kern issued a temporary restraining order against the state
fire marshal's office minutes before Worcester Superior Court closed at 4:30
p.m.
Attorney John Wozniak requested the order because Tara and Heath Carey,
the girls' parents, believe investigators have kept them in the dark.
The family and experts they hired want access to evidence stored at the
fire marshal's headquarters in Stow, Wozniak said. They also want to be a
part of the ongoing investigation.
"We just don't want an answer, we want the right answer," said
Wozniak, of the law firm Wozniak and Padula.
"It might take a little longer, but two little girls lost their
lives in the explosion."
The Careys' daughters, Iris, 4, and Violet, 51/2, died when an explosion
ripped apart their second floor apartment at 1 a.m. on July 24. The girls'
parents and eight others managed to escape from the wreckage that was once
65 Main St.
Wozniak will fight for a permanent retraining order before a judge at 2
p.m. Monday in Worcester Superior Court.
"We want a continuation of that order until such time all the
parties are allowed to sit down and be a part of the testing process,"
he said.
Wozniak, who has experience in explosion lawsuits, said he and the Careys
fear critical pieces of evidence may be lost or destroyed. That would hamper
any plans of filing a lawsuit against whoever is found responsible.
"We can't allow our experts to look at the site, we've lost that
opportunity," he said. "It's of critical importance all parties be
involved in the process."
Wozniak said the Carey family has hired explosion and natural gas
experts.
Those experts were expected to view meters, appliances, pipes and other
items taken from the building. They have not been allowed to access the Stow
trailer where the items are stored, Wozniak said.
And when Nstar read those meters Thursday, no one representing the Carey
family was on hand to watch. Wozniak said the family doesn't know the
results of those readings.
"I don't understand the big secret," he said. "All the
indicators point to the fact that we were not being included in the
process."
The state fire marshal could not be reached for comment.
The Careys believe the meter that measured the gas usage of their stove
and dryer could hold clues into the explosion. Nstar officials said they
changed the meter in May.
A May 23 bill showed that the Careys' gas usage rose after the meter
change, the family said. The $18 bill was more than double three of the
Careys' previous bills. Upstairs neighbor Tony Defreitas also said his gas
bill more than doubled.
