Wrong Way Accident Kills Two, I-395
Webster, Mass. - An Auburn man and Dayville woman have died after a wrong-way collision on I-395 South on Saturday Evening.
At approximately 10:12 p.m. the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) began receiving calls for a wrong-way driver traveling North in the Southbound lanes of I-395. Troopers immediately began responding and were updated within minutes that an automated system, likely the wrong-way driver alert system on Exit 1 (Thompson Rd), had obtained a photo of the vehicle, a dark-colored pickup truck.
According to the Massachusetts State Police, a GMC Sierra pickup, operated by a 31-year-old Auburn man, was traveling northbound in the left lane of the southbound side of Route 395. Simultaneously, a 2012 Honda CR-V sport utility vehicle, operated by a 35-year-old Dayville woman, was southbound in the same travel lane. The Sierra struck the Honda head-on in the southbound left lane in the area of mile marker 2.6.
The accident was witnessed from across the median by an MSP Trooper who was responding, to the reports of the wrong-way driver. The trooper immediately requested that Webster Fire and EMS be dispatched to the highway as additional local and state police units scrambled to the scene.
When the first unit arrived at the accident they reported two occupants to be heavily entrapped, one in each vehicle, with serious injuries. On-duty Webster Fire and EMS were en-route and a 1st Alarm assignment was struck for additional firefighters to assist with extricating the victims. As crews began to extricate, a special request was made for an Engine from the Dudley Fire Department to bring even more personnel to assist.
Crews spent approximately three hours extricating the victims.
Both operators sustained serious injuries and succumbed to their injuries on the scene.
During the extrication process, MSP Troopers and Webster Police Officers shut the highway down at Exit 3 (Gore Rd) and diverted traffic off of the highway, where they could then immediately re-enter via the Southbound on-ramp. The Highway remained closed for a large portion of the night to allow the accident reconstruction team to investigate.
The incident, including the reason the Auburn man was operating on the wrong side of the highway or where he entered the highway, remains under investigation.
Agencies that responded, or were dispatched, included: Webster Fire/Rescue, Webster EMS, Dudley Fire Department, Webster Police Department, Massachusetts State Police-Sturbridge Barracks, State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, State Police Crime Scene Services Section, and State Police Detective Unit for Worcester County.
In accordance with Quiet Corner Alerts policy, the names of the victims have been withheld.