Scott Piche, 52, of New Bedford was riding his 2009 Harley-Davidson when he was struck and killed in Raynham on June 5, 2026.
Scott B. Piché was on his way to work. The 52-year-old New Bedford man had punched in night shifts before — he worked at DePuy Johnson & Johnson in Raynham, doing the kind of honest, unglamorous work that keeps the South Coast running. It was a Friday night, just before midnight, and he was riding his 2009 Harley-Davidson down South Street East when a white Ford Explorer blew through the intersection at Hill Street and ended his life.
The driver of that Explorer was Jacob Larsen, 22, of Avon. His license was already suspended when he got behind the wheel that night — not because of some administrative mix-up, not because of a lapsed registration. His license was suspended because he was facing an active OUI charge from January 2026. The system had flagged him. The law had told him to stay off the road. He drove anyway.
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Now Scott Piche is dead, and Jacob Larsen is sitting in Taunton District Court answering for it.
What Happened at South Street East and Hill Street
Just before midnight on Friday, June 5, Raynham Police and EMS were dispatched to the intersection of South Street East and Hill Street for reports of a serious motor vehicle crash. What they found when they arrived was grim.
Piche’s black Harley-Davidson was resting on its side on the northbound shoulder of South Street East, the front end destroyed. Scott Piche himself was lying in the road with significant injuries. Paramedics rushed him to Morton Hospital in Taunton. He was pronounced dead there.
On the westbound side of Hill Street, police found Larsen’s white Ford Explorer — also with heavy front-end damage. Larsen had stayed at the scene. Investigators noted he showed no obvious signs of intoxication. But he was overheard saying something that says everything about how this moment landed on him: “Did I kill him?”
Yes. He did.
According to investigators, Larsen failed to yield — likely running through the intersection without stopping. The vehicles collided head-on. Scott Piche, riding straight on South Street East, never had a chance to avoid it.
The OUI Case That Should Have Kept Him Off the Road
This is where the story gets infuriating.
Jacob Larsen’s June 5 crash wasn’t his first brush with the law behind the wheel. In January 2026, Larsen was involved in a separate incident in Rehoboth — a head-on collision in which he reportedly drove a gray Honda Accord across the center line and struck a Dodge Caravan head-on. A Rhode Island woman driving the caravan was hospitalized. Larsen was taken to a hospital as well.
At that scene, police noted Larsen “displayed signs and symptoms of intoxication of alcohol.” He was charged with OUI, negligent operation, operating with a suspended license, speeding, marked lanes violation, and failure to wear a seatbelt. That OUI case was pending in Taunton District Court as of June 5 — and as a result of those charges, his license was suspended.
Suspended. Not “please drive carefully.” Suspended. As in: the Commonwealth of Massachusetts looked at what happened in Rehoboth and said, you don’t get to operate a motor vehicle.
He got behind the wheel anyway. And Scott Piche paid for it with his life.
On June 10, 2026 — just five days after the fatal Raynham crash — Larsen pleaded guilty to the earlier Rehoboth OUI charges. He received one year in prison with two years of probation and was ordered not to drive. That sentencing should have come months ago. Instead, it came after a man was dead.
Arraigned in Taunton, Bail Revoked
On Monday, June 8, Larsen was arraigned at Taunton District Court on the new charges stemming from Scott Piche’s death. The Bristol County District Attorney’s office, led by Thomas M. Quinn III, announced the following charges:
- Motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation
- Operating a motor vehicle while license suspended for OUI
- Marked lanes violation
- Failure to yield
The defense tried to make the case that Larsen had no prior convictions, lives at home, is unemployed, and cares for his disabled mother. The prosecution pushed back hard. The judge sided with the state — revoking Larsen’s bail in the prior OUI case entirely, citing safety concerns for the community. Bail on the new charges was set at $2,500 cash. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for July 1.
The judge’s own words at the bail revocation were pointed: there were “no bail assurances that would assure the safety of the community.” That’s the court saying, in plain English, that this man cannot be trusted on the streets. It took a man dying for that conclusion to land in writing.
Who Was Scott Piche?
Scott Piche wasn’t a headline. He was a New Bedford man with a life. According to those who knew him, he loved golf, country music, and cooking. He was a regular at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den, where he went to catch live music. He was an avid motorcycle rider, a firearms enthusiast, an art collector. He was, by all accounts, someone with strong convictions and a love for the people around him.
His obituary described him as “a true patriot who took tremendous pride in his Country, his President and the American Flag.” His children were his world. He had friends who called him devoted. He had a job he showed up to, a motorcycle he loved, and a route to work he’d probably ridden dozens of times.
On the night of June 5, he was heading to that job — night shift at DePuy Johnson & Johnson in Raynham — when another driver’s choice ended everything. He never made it. His family got a knock on the door instead.
Scott Piche deserves to be more than a footnote in a court case. He was a person. He was someone’s father, someone’s friend. And the South Coast lost him because a 22-year-old with an already-suspended license decided the rules didn’t apply to him.
The System Failed Scott Piche — Now It Needs to Answer
There are real questions here. Jacob Larsen was charged with OUI in January 2026. His license was suspended. That case was pending for five months before a man died. In the Rehoboth crash, Larsen had already driven with a suspended license — he had already been caught doing exactly this.
He did it again anyway. And this time, someone died.
The Bristol County DA’s office is pursuing motor vehicle homicide charges — the right call, and the least they can do. The WBSM has additional details on the arrest. Massachusetts State Police and Raynham PD are continuing their investigation. A pretrial date of July 1 is on the books.
But Scott Piche’s family isn’t waiting for July 1. They’re waiting for justice — and they have every right to be furious about how long it’s taking.
This is a story the South Coast has seen before: a repeat offender, a suspended license, a system that sent warnings and got ignored. Violent deaths on our local streets keep stacking up, and too often the people responsible had multiple chances to be stopped before anyone got killed. We’ve covered how Bristol County courts have handled prior cases before, and the pattern — low bail, revolving doors — keeps producing outcomes like this one. South Coast crime coverage shows the same pattern repeatedly: people already flagged by the system, still out here doing damage.
The July 1 pretrial date is a start. But the people who loved Scott Piche need more than a court date. They need someone to stand up at sentencing and say, plainly, that a man already told to stay off the road — twice — drove anyway and killed a New Bedford man on his way to work. That has to mean something.
The investigation into the Raynham crash is ongoing. Jacob Larsen’s pretrial hearing is scheduled for July 1 in Taunton District Court. If you have information about this case, contact the Raynham Police Department or the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
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