Articles Posted in Car Accidents

According to the Boston Herald, state troopers have been issuing a startling number of tickets to Massachusetts drivers. In the first three months of this year, the number of speeding citations increased by 23 percent over the first quarter of 2007. Overall, troopers gave out more than 12,000 speeding tickets on the Mass. Pike in the first three months of this year.

Some drivers accuse the Pike of increased ticketing to compensate for a budget crunch created by the Big Dig construction project. However, a spokesman for the Executive Office Transportation insists that the number of tickets is based on a concern for public safety and a desire to minimize the number of motor vehicle accidents related to speeding or reckless driving.

Most of the speeding tickets are issued by Troop E, which is the state police unit assigned to patrol the 138-mil toll road. According to the United States Department of Transportation, the risk of sustaining injuries in a car crash increases exponentially with speeds much faster than the median speed.

Staties slap drivers, filling Pike’s coffers, Boston Herald, May 27, 2009 Continue reading

On Friday morning, a car crash on 128 South in Burlington caused police to shut down all lanes of Route 128 intermittently for roughly two hours. Massachusetts state police said two people were on the ground when troopers arrived.

According to state police, Robert Carlo Jr., 29, of Bedford was driving a 2008 Ford pickup truck when he swerved into the right lane and hit a 1996 Ford Explorer just before 7am, causing the Explorer to spin out of control and cross into the far left lane. The Explorer hit a 2008 Dodge Durango, killing two Lawrence men and injuring others.

The deceased motor vehicle accident victims were identified as Juan Condorie, 43, and Alberto Maza, 22. Maza was pronounced dead at the scene of the car accident, but Condorie was taken by helicopter to Boston Medical Center before passing away that afternoon. Three other men were taken to Lahey Clinic in Burlington and were later discharged.

Two Lawrence men dead in hit-and-run on Route 128, Eagle Tribune, May 23, 2009
Crash shuts down 128 South in Burlington, NECN.com, May 22, 2009 Continue reading

Over the weekend, an 18-year-old high school student hit and killed a pedestrian as he drove home from a school-sponsored harbor cruise in Boston following his senior prom. Jonathan Caruso allegedly drove off Essex Road, hit a road sign, a telephone pole, a bush, and two women who were out walking their dog. Carol Marean, 67, was pronounced dead at the scene of the car accident, while her daughter, Charlotte Marean, 41, was seriously injured.

According to witnesses, the three teenagers involved in the car crash (none of whom were injured) tried to flee the accident until a neighbor threatened to turn them in. They waited for police to arrive, and Caruso was arrested after failing a sobriety test and reportedly telling his friends he’d had 10 beers. School officials said that all students were given breath tests and had their bags checked before the prom and before the cruise.

A judge ordered Caruso held on $7,500 cash bail, and the student was charged with negligent motor-vehicle homicide, transporting alcohol as a minor, and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Today he pleaded appeared in Lynn District Court and pleaded not guilty.

Saugus teen arraigned in post-prom crash death, Boston Globe, May 18, 2009 Continue reading

Police say that speed may have led to the car crash that killed a Salem man and injured a Derry girl earlier this week. Police were called to Island Pond Road just after midnight when a 1994 Chevrolet Cavalier veered into the opposite lane and hit a tree. An assistant medical examiner pronounced the driver, 18-year-old Robert Stuart, dead at the scene of the car accident.

A 16-year-old girl was seriously injured and taken to Boston Medical Center for medical treatment. Her name has not been released to the public. Neither Stuart nor his passenger were wearing seat belts when the car crash occurred. He attended Timberlane Regional High School in Plaistow and the Greater Lawrence Educational Collaborative in Massachusetts and would have graduated next month.

Although police say they believe speed may have caused the car accident, they are still investigating.

Speeding may have caused fatal Atkinson crash, Eagle-Tribune, May 6, 2009 Continue reading

A man who survived a recent Somali pirate attack was injured in a car accident in late April. First mate Shane Murphy was driving home to Seekonk with his wife the day after the pair attended a Red Sox-Yankees game in Boston when the auto accident occurred.

Murphy, 34, missed an appearance at his alma mater, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, as a result of the car crash, but his injuries were not believed to be serious.

His wife, Serena, 34, called her father-in-law after the motor vehicle accident to let him know that the couple was in the hospital. Their two sons were not with them at the time of the crash, and the father-in-law said they are trying to figure out what to do with the children while their parents recover.

According to a spokesman from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Serena was released from the hospital a short time later and the event honoring Murphy had been postponed.

Murphys injured in car crash, CapeCodTimes.com, April 28, 2009 Continue reading

Last fall, Massachusetts’ Registry of Motor Vehicles stopped mailing reminders to people whose driver’s licenses would soon expire. According to the state Executive Officer of Transportation, the decision saved the state $857,000 per year.

However, Massachusetts drivers caught driving with an expired license can receive a citation with a fine ranging from $100 to $1,000. Since driving with an expired license is a criminal offense, police officers can arrest the driver if they choose.

To help prevent drivers from using an expired license, a Boston-based insurance company, Plymouth Rock Assurance, is offering a free email service to remind drivers when their license will expire. Beginning May 11, anyone, regardless of whether they are a Plymouth Rock policy holder or not, can sign up at www.plymouthrock.com. The company ensures approximately 180,000 drivers in Massachusetts.

Drivers offered license reminder, MassLive.com, May 4, 2009 Continue reading

According to a press release from the Massachusetts state police, a car crash on Soldiers Field Road in Boston left two Waltham resident seriously injured on Monday. The single-vehicle crash occurred on Monday evening when a 1994 Lexus sedan veered into the left lane, spun out of control, and hit the guardrail.

The driver was taken by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital and was later pronounced dead. His two passengers, Francky Andrevil, 20, and Jeron Feaster, 19, suffered serious injuries and were taken by ambulance to New England Medical Center.

The traffic accident remains under investigation, and the right westbound lane of Solders Field Road was closed for about 3 hours after the car accident.

Two Waltham men seriously injured in Boston crash, Daily News Tribune, April 28, 2009 Continue reading

A car accident in a Massachusetts suburb killed a well known Boston doctor when her car veered into oncoming traffic and hit another car. The driver, Dr. Phyllis Jen, was killed, and police are questioning whether Dr. Jen was using her BlackBerry at the time of the car crash.

Speed and alcohol did not appear to be factors in the auto accident, and the driver and passenger of the other vehicle, a large SUV, were not seriously injured. Although Massachusetts has not experienced as many car crashes related to texting or cell phone use as some states, lawmakers are considering a ban on wireless handsets to protect drivers.

According to a recent study conducted by Harris Interactive, 92% of Americans believe driving while texting or emailing as dangerous as driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Cell Phone Misuse May Have Killed Boston Physician, InformationWeek.com, April 23, 2009 Continue reading

An early morning car accident in Marion, Massachusetts, on April 10 sent two people to the hospital. According to police, Jonathan Fonseca, 20, was driving west on Route 6 when he hit the curb and a utility pole, breaking the pole and causing it to fall across Route 6. The damage from the car crash (a broken utility pole and downed wires) forced authorities to close Route 6 for nine hours.

Fonseca and his passenger, 18-year-old Michelle Rico, were flown to the hospital by Med Flight helicopter. Their injuries were considered serious, according to the Marion police chief. As of last week, Ricco was in fair condition, and Fonseca had been treated and released from the hospital.

The Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstructions Section is investigating the auto accident along with the Marion Police. They believe that speed may have been a factor.

Two local people seriously injured in car accident, WickedLocal.com, April 14, 2009 Continue reading

On Saturday night, a state police trooper was hit by a car while on a detail in a damaged area of Boston’s Mass Pike. The area was damaged in an earlier traffic accident that occurred around 11am that morning.

The driver of a 2009 Toyota Camry dropped a “large piece of equipment” which hit one of the panels at the D entrance of the Mass Pike on Congress Street around 9pm.

According to state police Lt. Eric Anderson, the injured trooper was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the Toyota Camry, a 24-year-old man from Hyde Park, was arrested on marijuana charges, and the car accident remains under investigation.

State trooper at Pike ramp struck by car, Boston Herald, April 12, 2009
Trooper Struck By Vehicle in Boston, WBZTV.com, April 11, 2009 Continue reading