Cape Cod crash kills two; one from Fall River, another a new father

COTUIT — Kevin Quinn, of Mashpee, was nervous about being a father.

The 32-year-old Marine combat veteran had served two tours in Afghanistan, owned his own excavation business and was eyeing a career in law enforcement. But the prospect of being a father ruffled his nerves.

“It was just some first-time jitters. He was excited about it,” said Rob Dinan, Quinn’s close friend and fellow Marine.

His daughter was born on Wednesday at Cape Cod Hospital at 2:19 a.m., three days before Quinn was killed when his vehicle was struck by an erratic driver in Cotuit. It was shortly after midnight on Saturday when he died; he had planned to pick up his wife, Kara, and their newborn daughter that same morning to bring them home.

The two full days Quinn spent with his daughter, Logan Audrey Quinn, washed away any doubts he had about being a father.

“He was ecstatic, and so happy,” Dinan said, who is also the spokesman for Quinn’s family. “He really felt what it was like to be a father, and I’m happy he did.”

Quinn was struck by a sedan driven by 22-year-old Mickey Rivera, of Fall River, who was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a statement by the Barnstable Police Department. A passenger in the sedan, Jocelyn Goyette, 24, of New Bedford, suffered life-threatening injuries and was brought to Cape Cod Hospital, then transferred to a hospital in the Boston area, according to police and fire officials. She remains in the hospital in critical condition.

No more information about Rivera or Goyette was available Sunday night.

Quinn was pinned inside his SUV after the crash; firefighters used a hydraulic tool to remove him. He was taken by ambulance to South Shore Hospital where he later died, police said.

Barnstable police are investigating the incident. Police withheld the names of the three individuals involved in the crash until Sunday afternoon pending a status update on Goyette’s condition.

A preliminary analysis suggested that Rivera was traveling east on Route 28 when he collided with Quinn’s 2012 GMC SUV, according to Barnstable police. Cotuit firefighters responded to a call at 12:14 a.m.and found the gray 2000 Toyota sedan split in two and on fire, with both occupants ejected from the car.

Based on emergency broadcasts from Mashpee police just before the time of the crash, a police officer had begun pursuit of a sedan. When questioned on the scanner about the reason for the pursuit, the officer cited erratic operation, speeding, marked lanes and multiple stop-sign violations.

“We are in the early stages of what is going to be a comprehensive and thorough investigation into our involvement of the facts and circumstances leading up to this terrible tragedy,” Mashpee Police Chief Scott Carline wrote in a statement. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the victims and their families at this time.”

Carline referred questions about the crash to Barnstable police.

News that Quinn was a victim of the crash spread quickly across social media, and a GoFundMe page for his family had already garnered some $80,000 by 8 p.m.

Quinn began an excavation company, Quinn Excavation and Septic, in Mashpee several years ago, according to Dinan.

Having met six years ago, Dinan said he and Quinn were best friends.

“We just bonded instantly because we were both Marines,” Dinan said. “When you meet other Marines, you just have that instant brotherhood.”

Dinan said Quinn helped a lot of friends who were financially in need, offering discount rates for his septic service.

“He was just a happy, happy person,” he said. “He always had a joke, and always had a smile.”

Quinn was deployed as a Marine from 2008 to 2011, Dinan said. After completing his service abroad, Quinn aspired to be a police officer back home.

He was also very well known in the construction community, a tight-knit group in which “everybody’s worked for everybody, and everybody knows everybody,” according to Quinn’s longtime friend Alex Yukna.

“He was one of the best,” Yukna said. “He did everyone right; he never burned anyone. Not a single contractor on the Cape would say otherwise.”

Yukna, 29, said he’d known Quinn for more than 20 years, and both attended Mashpee High School.

“Someone made a huge mistake in taking this man’s life,” he said. “He was selfless, absolutely selfless. He always had a light around him.”

Quinn will be buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery with full military honors on Aug. 6, Dinan said, and a funeral Mass will take place at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee at 11 a.m. earlier in the day.