Thirty-five years ago this week, Marblehead, after a bevy of delays along the way, took care of one of its own.
Former patrolman Carl Varrell lost his leg in an unusual accident in 1976, when he was just 27 years old. On Jan. 16, 1976, Varrell was directing traffic on Tedesco Street, after responding to a tow truck that had rolled over earlier in the evening, when he was hit by a car and flipped onto its hood. Varrell’s head smashed through the car’s windshield and his leg became trapped when the skidding car rammed into the overturned tow truck — with his leg in between the two vehicles.
The driver of the car was cited for drunk driving but the charge was eventually dropped after blood tests revealed he was not legally drunk. He was found guilty of operating to endanger and fined $250.
After the accident, Varrell was in a coma for a week and his right leg was amputated. He attempted to mount a comeback but his disabilities “limited his capacity to serve the town,” The Daily Evening Item reported.
And so Varrell’s odyssey began.
The driver’s insurance paid out a settlement that was split between the town, which footed the bill for Varrell’s medical care, Varrell’s lawyer, and himself. The critical element of the driver’s defense was blaming the wreck on faulty brakes in the Chrysler Cordoba he was driving, and so Varrell was advised to sue Chrysler, which he did — seeking $3 million.
Midway through the trial, the company offered to settle for $200,000, an offer Varrell rejected. But, when a jury sided with the company, citing the drunk-driving charge in their decision, he was left with nothing.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Varrell is quoted as saying. “We even found a guy who worked for Chrysler who testified on my behalf — Chrysler fired the guy for testifying.”
Varrell told The Item several Cordobas had been recalled for faulty brakes.
“What makes you mad is the people that are awarded a million dollars for slipping on a banana peel outside of Zayres,” he went on to say.
Several fundraisers were held for Varrell over the years, but he struggled to support himself financially on a partial pension.
But, his fortunes changed in 1988, when the state legislature overwhelmingly approved a waiver to allow the town to pay Varrell’s 100% pension. The pension had been approved at Town Meeting in May, but required the legislature to sign off.
With the pension in place, Varrell was set to receive the payments he would have had if he remained on the force as an officer. He was also eligible for all cost-of-living adjustments to the pension.
“We’re really happy about it,” Varrell is quoted as saying. “With two girls going to college, it was surely needed.”