RUMFORD — A Massachusetts man was sentenced last week to serve five years in prison for a drunken driving crash that killed one of his sons and injured another, as well as himself and a Rumford driver in March 2024.
Matthew R. Kellogg, 43, of Hopedale, Massachusetts, was indicted on multiple charges in August 2024. He pleaded guilty to all charges, including manslaughter, aggravated assault and operating under the influence of alcohol in an Oxford County court, according to Rumford Police Chief Tony Milligan’s news release on the department’s Facebook page.
Kellogg was sentenced June 23 in an Oxford County court to 15 years in prison with all but five years suspended, followed by four years of probation, Milligan wrote, and is prohibited from using or possessing alcohol and must undergo substance use treatment during those four years. He is also prohibited from having direct or indirect contact with the other driver, F. Michael Piveronas of Rumford.
On the afternoon of March 9, 2024, Kellogg was driving his 2016 Subaru Impreza east in the westbound lane of U.S. Route 2 with his two sons, ages 9 and 6, when his vehicle struck a westbound Volvo sedan driven by Piveronas, Milligan said.
Rumford emergency services personnel responded to the scene, and a game warden and a nurse who came upon the the scene rendered aid to an unresponsive child while others worked to extricate and stabilize the injured, according to Milligan.
Despite life-saving efforts at the scene and at Rumford Hospital, “Kellogg’s 9-year-old son tragically succumbed to his injuries,” Milligan wrote.
In the days following the crash, social media posts speculated Piveronas was at fault, struggling to believe someone they knew as a “nice guy” could be responsible for such tragedy, according to Milligan. “But now, with the conclusion of a yearlong investigation and court proceedings, the facts are clear and indisputable: Matthew Kellogg caused this crash because he chose to drive under the influence of alcohol,” he wrote.
“Toxicology reports confirmed Kellogg’s blood alcohol content was well above the legal limit at the time of the crash. Investigators also recovered multiple alcohol containers from his vehicle. There was no fault found with Mr. Piveronas and neither vehicle had any mechanical faults prior to impact,” Milligan wrote.
“There is no joy in announcing this conviction — only sadness for lives forever changed,” the chief wrote. “This was a preventable tragedy. One poor decision — to drive impaired — set off a chain of events that cost a 9-year-old boy his life, gravely injured another child, and left an innocent man with devastating injuries and trauma. Our hearts remain with everyone affected by this crash, including the first responders who will never forget that day.
“As we head into the Fourth of July weekend, I urge everyone: don’t drink and drive. Don’t text and drive. Don’t take chances,” Milligan wrote. “We cannot bring back the child who was lost that day, but we can all take responsibility for making sure tragedies like this never happen again. Every decision behind the wheel carries consequences — for ourselves and for others.”
