The seven people who tragically died in a horrific crash in New Hampshire were members and supporters of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, a group of veterans of the U.S. Marine Corps. Two couples died in the crash. Five of those lost were patch members in the MC, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help the victims’ families and the club.
They were parents, veterans, grandparents, and more. One victim was described as an “awesome soldier.” Another was described as a “beautiful soul.” Four of the seven were from New Hampshire.
New Hampshire officials released the names of the deceased victims on Sunday, June 23, 2019. You can read bios and see photos of the victims later in this article. They are:
Michael Ferazzi, 62 (Contoocook, NH)
Albert Mazza, 49 (Lee, NH)
Daniel Pereira, 58 (Riverside, RI)
Jo-Ann and Edward Corr, both 58 (Lakeville, MA. Read a tribute post to the Corrs here.)
Desma Oakes, 42 (Concord, NH)
Aaron Perry, 45 (Farmington, NH)
According to Deputy Attorney General Jane Young, the five male victims were members of the Jarheads MC, and the two women were supporters of the club. On June 24, 2019, a WMUR reporter wrote on Twitter that the truck driver who struck the bikers was now under arrest and “has been charged with seven counts of negligent homicide.”
Albert Mazza (l) and Daniel Pereira
Colonel Christopher Wagner of the New Hampshire State Police said in a news conference that, around 6:30 p.m. June 21, a 2016 Dodge 2500 pickup truck was towing a quality trailer, which is a trailer that hauls cars. It was traveling west on Route 2 in Randolph. The “Dodge pickup truck struck numerous motorcycles traveling east on Route 2.” There were 10 motorcycles involved, and “seven people lost their lives.” Three others were injured; one remains in stable condition and others were treated and released.
“Make no mistake about this… this is one of the worst tragic incidents we have investigated in the state. This was a mass casualty event,” Wagner said. He said the investigation was in the beginning stages and was going to be a lengthy probe. No one has been arrested, but the crash is under investigation, and the pickup driver, who survived, has been identified by authorities. The names of those injured but who survived were not released.
Here’s what you need to know about each victim who died in the tragedy:
Jo-Ann & Edward Corr, Lakeville, Massachusetts
A photo on Ed Corr’s Facebook page.
Tributes began to flood the Facebook page of Jo-Ann Corr. “I am still in shock. I hope am going to wake up from this bad dream and you and I will be meeting for lunch as planned. My friend Jo-Ann Boudreau Corr beautiful soul. You are going to be so dearly missed. You and Ed are together forever in peace,” wrote one friend. (Authorities gave her name as Joanne Corr, but she goes by Jo-Ann on Facebook).
On Facebook, Jo-Ann Corr wrote that she was “finding the Divine in the daily. Loving being a wife & Memere.” She wrote that she was “Memere at Corr’s Holiday Cottage” and “Independent Distributor at SeneGence International.”
Ed and Joanne Corr
Edward Corr goes by Ed Corr on Facebook. His Facebook page says that he was “Head Technician at Spillane’s Nursery and Landscape Co., Inc.,” and “studied Military history and combat tactics at University of Parris Island.” He went to Brockton, High School, was from Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and lived in Lakeville, Massachusetts.
He posted photos on Facebook showing him riding motorcycles and honoring the U.S. Marine Corps.
Ed Corr
Ed Corr also posted a throwback photo showing him in a military uniform.
“Straight out of High School 18,” he wrote with that photo.
Michael Ferazzi, Contoocook, NH
Mike Ferazzi
“It is a truly sad day! We must pay tribute to our classmate Mike Ferazzi. He will be missed by all! He was a great guy taken too soon. He was the lead motorcyclist in this horrific accident,” wrote the Plymouth Carver Regional High School Class of 1975.
“He was a good guy,” another former classmate wrote.
Mike Ferazzi
On Facebook, Ferazzi went by the name Mike Ferazzi. “Worked at United States Marine Corps. Lives in Contoocook, New Hampshire. From Plymouth, Massachusetts. Married to Shirley McHugh Ferazzi,” he wrote.
A friend wrote on his page, “RIP Mike Ferazzi , you were an awesome soldier, and an inspiration on fighting the good fight and living your life the way you wanted ?.” Photos on Ferazzi’s Facebook page showed he was also a grandfather.
In June, he posted a picture of a flag with a stone circle that bore the name of the Marine Corps. “Flowers planted and Marine Corps emblem stone given to me by…a brother marine,” he wrote.
On June 9, he wrote, “Great ride through Vermont today with fellow Marines now some steak with my Sweetie at our camp. Great Day.”
Desma Oakes, Concord, NH
Desma Oakes
“Thank you for being my friend ~ for supporting and believing in me ~ for being there to help me plan the wedding of my dreams. I’ll love you always and never forget you! RIP Desma Oakes ?” a friend wrote in a tribute to Desma Oakes.
Oakes’ Facebook page said she lived in Concord, New Hampshire and was from Norwich, Vermont. Her most recent posts included a tribute for Memorial Day and photos with family and on a beach. On May 11, she posted an inspirational graphic that read, “Life is short. Spend it with people who make you laugh and feel loved.”
Oakes’ father, Dan Cook, told The Boston Globe that Oakes was the mother of two boys, and she had lost both her husband and a son to cancer.
“She wasn’t a person who just took, she was a person who gave and participated,” Cook said to the newspaper.
Aaron Perry, Farmington, NH
FacebookAaron Perry
According to his Facebook page, Aaron Perry was in a relationship with Desma Oakes. He wrote that he lived in Farmington, New Hampshire and was from Union, New Hampshire. Authorities released this photo of Perry:
Aaron Perry
The only thing visible on Perry’s Facebook page was a picture of a car. The Boston Globe reported that Perry is a Marine Corps veteran, and that he was riding on a motorcycle with Oakes when the crash occurred.
“They’re a Marine group,” said Jane Young, deputy attorney general, in a press conference, about the victims. “They were up in the area for a reunion. We have identified the driver and where he lives.” Of the victims, Young said: “They were members of the Jarhead Motorcycle Club.” A GoFundMe page designed to help Jarheads MC and the victims’ families says five of the victims were club patch holders and two were supporters.
Albert Mazza, Lee, NH
Albert Mazza
Authorities said that Albert Mazza was from Lee. His sister, Tina Mazza, told the Boston Globe that he loved being a veteran.
“He was just a really great man, a really great guy and he loved his family very much,” she said to the Boston newspaper. “And he loved being a veteran and taking care of veterans. That’s just how he was. It’s just very difficult for us as a family right now.”
Daniel Pereira, Riverside, RI
Daniel Pereira
Authorities said that Daniel Pereira was from Riverside, RI. “R.I.P. President of Local 1010, Daniel Pereira. You were a marine, a loving husband and father and a good man. You will be missed,” Nicole Barnard wrote on Facebook.
ABC News described the Marine Jarheads as a motorcycle club “that includes Marines and their spouses.” The accident occurred along Route 2 in Randolph. Charlie St. Clair, executive director of Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, told The Associated Press that the tragedy was “staggering and it’s tragic beyond description.”
A GoFundMe Page Has Raised More Than $250,000 to Help the Jarheads MC and Families
According to the GoFundMe page set up to help the club and families, on June 21, 2019, “Jarheads MC was riding to a charity event at the local American Legion in Gorham, New Hampshire Post #82. Our pack was struck by an oncoming vehicle and we lost 5 patch holders and 2 supporters, and many others are injured.”
The page adds: “Our club and the families are going to need help and we cannot do it alone. I am pleading with you all, please do what you can, and this money will go where it is needed to help ease some of the burden of these victims families. Jarheads MC has always been about helping veterans and their families and sadly, today we are in need of that same support.”
According to the page, Jarheads Motorcycle Club “is a club consisting of active duty or honorably discharged Marines and FMF Corpsmen. We ride and serve veterans and veteran families in our committees, with chapters in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.”
The Jarheads website explains, “We are a Motorcycle Club consisting of honorably discharged United States Marines and FMF Corpsmen. We are a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting veteran’s causes. We respect all and fear none.”
“Yesterday’s tragedy has affected our state and our citizens in a very profound way,” said Gov. Chris Sununu in the press conference. “It’s clear to say words can not express the grief that we all feel about the loss of these seven individuals.”
He called it “clearly quite a horrible day in our state.”