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It is particularly surprising to learn that some people drink in the mornings. Some may even do so as part of their morning routine before driving to work. Although you may think you are safe from encountering an intoxicated driver during your early morning commute, statistics show otherwise. Unfortunately, the risk is especially acute in Massachusetts.
A fatal hit-and-run accident this past September on I-95 South in Attleboro, Massachusetts, is still unresolved as police search for a white Cadillac Esplanade that a surveillance camera captured fleeing the scene. Police also described the driver and reported that the subject vehicle might have front end damage and a missing headlight. The unfortunate victim was a homeless individual. Reports did not indicate if the victim had been walking on the highway, though the location of the accident would suggest that. Pedestrians are not allowed to be walking or wandering on interstate highways.
Following a 2018 fatal motorcycle accident that killed a Brewster man, the West Yarmouth driver who collided with the rider in the middle of an intersection was found not guilty by a jury of vehicular homicide by negligent operation but was found guilty of failing to yield.
Last month, a 62-year old Woodstock woman was killed when she apparently lost control of the 53-foot truck she was driving that was transporting methane gas, a hazardous material, and crashed through a guardrail before the truck rolled onto its side. Police were still investigating the incident to find out why the truck suddenly left the roadway on Route 2 in Orange. Fortunately, no other vehicles were involved. Read more
On October 1 at around 8:40 p.m., a Methuen man lost his life in a hit-and-run accident that occurred on Jackson Street in this small town of just under 50,000 located about 26 miles northwest of Boston. The decedent was reportedly getting ready to move his car to make room for a tow truck when he was struck by a passing motorist. Police later found a vehicle about a mile away that had front-end damage and had it towed for further investigation. There were no further reports regarding the identity of the vehicle owner or if an arrest had been made. Police were canvassing the neighborhood and asking residents if they had surveillance cameras that might have captured the accident or perhaps that of a vehicle fleeing the scene shortly after it occurred.
Earlier this summer, a 28-year-old man died from injuries he suffered when he was struck by a Mazda SUV when crossing Middle Street in Weymouth near the Route 3 overpass around 11:00 p.m. The man had been taken to South Shore Hospital but died soon thereafter. Other details about the accident were not reported.
Construction zones are notorious for being the scene of car accidents in Massachusetts. And if road or other construction is occurring in a stretch of road already known to locals as particularly susceptible to accidents, then that road becomes even more dangerous. This is true not only for motorists but for construction workers who must have safeguards in place to alert motorists to slow down.
Rollover accidents can be deadly since the vehicle occupants can be violently tossed around within the vehicle, striking objects, windows and other passengers. If seat belts are not worn or are worn but fail to restrain the occupants, passengers can be ejected from the vehicle to the pavement or into any object outside. This was highlighted in a horrific crash early this Summer on I-95 near Exit 3 in Attleboro around 11:00 a.m. A Ford Econoline van transporting 11 persons was struck by a Toyota Rav 4 that was in the adjoining lane. Both vehicles crossed the median after impact. The van rolled over and all 11 occupants were ejected. Two of the passengers suffered fatal injuries. Police reports did not indicate how the accident occurred though it is likely that one motorist made an unsafe lane change or that both attempted to change lanes simultaneously. Other factors could have been fatigue, impairment, distraction, or the possible inexperience of the van driver.
A recent lawsuit filing in Hampden County Superior Court brought back memories of the deadly and incomprehensible tragedy this past June in Randolph, New Hampshire where 7 motorcyclists were killed. A young driver in a pickup truck towing a trailer suddenly crossed into the opposite lane of traffic and mowed down the innocent motorcycle riders. None of the first responders or police at the scene could recall an incident or carnage of this magnitude in a single motor vehicle incident. The driver was from Springfield, Massachusetts and had a Massachusetts driver’s license at the time of the incident.
It is generally assumed that the best or safest place to be in a car accident is the back seat. The most serious accidents are head-on collisions followed by T-bone collisions. If you are restrained in the back seat during these collisions, the general belief is that you were likely spared serious or fatal injuries merely because of the distance between the back-seat passenger and the impact location.