MILLBURY, MA — One person was killed and another injured in a wrong-way crash on Route 146 early Saturday morning.
Massachusetts State Police attempted to stop a vehicle on Interstate 90 westbound at 12:43 a.m. when the driver initially complied but fled as a trooper approached. Shortly after, police issued a BOLO for the suspect vehicle.
At 12:55 a.m., troopers located the vehicle entering Route 146, traveling south in the northbound lanes. Despite attempting to stop the driver with stop sticks, the vehicle collided head-on with another car between the on and off-ramps at Exit 17.
The wrong-way driver, a man in his 20s from Connecticut, succumbed to his injuries. Police have not released his name. The other vehicle's driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Emergency responders from Millbury Fire and EMS, along with Worcester County State Police detectives and collision analysis teams, were dispatched to the scene. Traffic was diverted during the investigation, with all lanes reopening around 4:30 a.m.
Further information surrounding the incident is pending. This crash follows a recent announcement by Governor Maura Healey regarding a statewide initiative aimed at preventing wrong-way driving, which includes improved signage and advanced detection technology. The initiative was launched in response to a series of wrong-way incidents in Massachusetts, including a tragic crash that resulted in the death of State Trooper Kevin Trainor.