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Peter Simon, 54, of Woodsville, New Hampshire, is charged with two counts of manslaughter and armed robbery, but more charges are likely forthcoming, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office said. He will be arraigned on Thursday.
The prosecutor said Simon was driving a pick-up truck on Totten Pond Road in Waltham when he suddenly made a U-turn in the middle of the road and crashed into a Jeep.
Simon continued driving for a quarter mile when he struck Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey, 58, and three National Grid employees, killing a 36-year-old and sending two others to the hospital, the prosecutor said. The workers' names were not released.
Officer Tracey was working a protection detail for a utility worksite.
Simon pressed on, hitting two more vehicles before he jumped from his truck and stole a Waltham police cruiser from a responding officer at knifepoint, the prosecutor said.
He sped off in the patrol car and crashed it on Winter Street a few minutes later. He jumped out and ran but did not make it far before Waltham police caught him, the prosecutor said.
The two injured National Grid employees were taken to an area hospital, where doctors treated and released them.
Tracey leaves behind a wife and two children.
He was a Waltham police officer for nearly three decades. He was recognized for heroism in 2018 for saving a woman's life on Cape Cod.
"Paul Tracey served this city with distinction," Waltham police Chief Kevin O'Connell told WMUR. "He was a compassionate police officer and always looked out for the underdog. He was an amazing husband, a loving father, and a friend to all, especially the men and women of this police department."
Tracey made an unsuccessful bid in November for Ward 3 of the Waltham Council as an Independent.
Dozens of Waltham police officers escorted the hearse carrying Tracey's body to a funeral home Wednesday night, reports said.
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