Wrong-way driver in Wareham involved in fatal car crash
Interstate 495 near Wareham, Massachusetts, is a divided freeway. There are few ways to end up driving on the interstate going the wrong way — and yet that is what happened.
News sources revealed that a 26-year-old man was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of I-495 outside of Wareham, when he hit another car in a head-on collision. The occupant of the other car was pronounced dead at the scene, and the 26-year-old suffered serious personal injuries.
According to news sources, the accident took place on a Saturday evening recently, at about 10:20 p.m. The 26-year-old man, from Brockton, ran directly into a car driven by a 43-year-old man who succumbed to his injuries.
The 26-year-old had to be extracted from his vehicle by the Jaws of Life. He suffered serious leg injuries and was flown to Rhode Island Hospital. Blood tests are standard procedure at many hospital emergency rooms, and so the 26-year-old may have taken a blood alcohol concentration test at that time.
The accident is apparently under investigation.
Unlike a wrong-way driver on a two-lane road, a wrong-way driver on a divided interstate is less likely to be due to random road drift. Some speculative options for a wrong-way driver’s appearance on an interstate are:
- Driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs
- Driving with sleep deprivation and not noticing the “wrong way” signs posted on the interstate entrance
- Poor or missing sign markings indicating the interstate entrance
- Distracted driving at the time of the turn onto the interstate
- Medical condition causing temporary disorientation
Depending upon the results of the accident investigation, the 26-year-old could be facing either criminal charges or wrongful death litigation in civil court or both.
Source: WATD-FM, “Wareham: Wrong way accident kills local man,” Garo Hagopian, June 17, 2012
