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Earlier this week, several Massachusetts state troopers were injured in unrelated car crashes. On Sunday evening, Trooper Patrick McGowan was injured in a Wrentham car crash involving a 2004 Acura. He was treated and released at Norwood Hospital. One of the passengers in the Acura was also injured in the auto collision.

Also on Sunday evening, Trooper John Duggan was injured in a Raynham car accident on Route 495 after a 2001 Pathfinder crossed the median and hit the trooper’s cruiser head-on. He was extricated from his cruiser and transported to Morton Hospital with minor injuries.

On Monday morning, a Trooper Edward Bruso was seriously injured while responding to a car crash on Route 290 westbound in Worcester. He was transported to the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and later released.

Both of the Sunday evening cruiser accidents are being investigated.

Troopers Hurt In Series Of Road Crashes, TheBostonChannel.com, October 19, 2009 Continue reading

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Last Monday, an accident in Holbrook involving an MBTA bus and another car was captured on one of the bus’ cameras, helping transit police determine who was at fault for the bus accident.

Last week, the MBTA released the video, which shows the driver of a Chevy Malibu slumping over before crossing the median line and hitting the MBTA bus head-on. The footage helped police determine that the bus driver was not at fault for the motor vehicle accident. They cited the other driver for failure to stay within marked lanes.

Police say that surveillance video footage has also helped them in other instances, like when a crime is committed on an MBTA bus or nearby or when suspects ride the MBTA after committing a crime. Roughly 350 buses out of the MBTA’s 1,100-bus fleet are outfitted with eight cameras each. Some subway cars and stations also have video cameras.

Holbrook crash demonstrates value of cameras on T buses, Boston Globe, October 15, 2009 Continue reading

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On Friday morning, a 50-year-old from Marlborough died after being ejected from his truck in a rollover crash. Police say the man was driving south on Route 66 when his Chevrolet Silverado 2500 truck went off the road just after midnight.

He was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the truck accident, and a coroner pronounced him dead on the scene. A 47-year-old from Florida suffered minor injuries, while two other passengers in the truck were not injured.

Police say they believe the truck accident was weather-related, though they have yet to determine the cause of the accident.

Mass. man killed in Forest County accident, GoErie.com, October 17, 2009 Continue reading

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Freestyle sledder Darryl Tait landed in a Massachusetts hospital following a snowmobile crash during a Boston area competition, according to the Whitehorse Star. The 19-year-old is at Massachusetts General Hospital and is using a respirator to breathe. His snowmobile apparently landed on him while he was demonstrating a maneuver.

According to a friend of Tait, surgeons are waiting until he can breathe on his own before attempting to operate in his back. Tait’s doctors are unsure if his spine was severed in the snowmobile accident.

The friend told the Whitehorse Star that one of the athlete’s lungs was punctured and the other collapsed. The snowmobile accident victim also reportedly suffered broken ribs.

Canadian Freestyler Darryl Tait Injured in Snowmobile Crash, TSN.ca, October 16, 2009 Continue reading

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Last week, a motor vehicle accident on Route 28 North in Medford injured a pedestrian, who later died at the hospital. According to state police reports, the pedestrian was hit by a 2003 BMW X5 in the right lane. The 33-year-old driver was not injured.

The pedestrian, a 53-year-old man from Medford, was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital and died at the hospital. Medford’s Deputy Fire Chief said that stretch of roadway is particularly prone to accidents, although they usually do not involve pedestrians.

Police closed Route 28 for three hours following the motor vehicle crash so they could investigate and reconstruct the accident. It is clear if the driver will face any charges.

Pedestrian killed on Fellsway in Medford, Boston Globe, October 9, 2009 Continue reading

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Last December, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) stopped sending paper reminders about driver’s license renewals to save money. Now Massachusetts drivers can sign up for a free service that allows the RMV to notify them by email or phone or text message when their driver’s license is about to expire.

A statement from Registrar Rachel Kaprielian said “we saved nearly $800,000 a year by eliminating paper courtesy mailings to our customers.” Massachusetts-based Senza Inc. is handing the new notification service, is free to the RMV, because businesses will buy advertising that accompanies the reminder messages.

In order to receive the notification, users must sign up at least 45 days before their driver’s license or ID expires. They can sign up online at www.mass.gov/rmv and will receive an electronic message at least 30 days before the expiration date telling them whether they should renew online or in person and whether their license can’t be renewed at all due to outstanding excise taxes or parking tickets.

You’ve got e-mail — and you’d better renew your license, Boston Globe, October 7, 2009 Continue reading

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On Thursday evening, a flat bed tow truck carrying an SUV on Route 495 reportedly crashed into another vehicle, ejecting and killing the tow truck operator. No one else was killed in the truck accident, which occurred around 10:15pm. According to Massachusetts police, the tow truck also hit the Rt. 195 bridge abutment and overpass during the accident.

When EMS personnel responded to the emergency call, they pronounced the 52-year-old truck accident victim dead at the scene. The crash caused police to shut down Route 495 southbound near Route 25 for several hours as they examined the scene of the accident. Inspectors from Mass Highway were also called to the scene of the truck accident to help calculate the extent of damage caused to the overpass and bridge abutment.

The accident investigation is continuing with help from the State Police Collision Analysis Reconstruction Section, the State Police Crime Scene Service Section, and the State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section.

One Killed in Wareham Tow Truck Accident, ABC6.com, October 9, 2009 Continue reading

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This week, members of Massachusetts’ Joint Committee on Transportation heard testimony about two bills that relate to traffic safety. The first, dubbed Ryan’s Bill after a 16-year-old who died in a motorcycle accident, would require driver’s education for motorcyclists between the ages of 16 and 18. Currently, Massachusetts law does not require Class M permit applicants to pass a riding test or undergo lessons, which some consider “ludicrous” given that motorcycles can travel up to 100 miles per hour.

Ryan’s father, Brockton Fire Lieutenant Roger Orcutt, hopes that the bill will prevent other teens from getting into a dangerous motorcycle accident. State Senator Stephen M. Brewer urged the Joint Committee to pass the bill, so “Ryan’s death will not be in vain.”

The committee also heard testimony surrounding a bill that would require paratransit vehicles to have an up-to-date wheelchair tie-down and safety belt system. In addition, the bill would require a training course for employees and volunteers who transport wheelchair-seated passengers. Among those testifying in favor of the bill were Kenny Cieplik, a 34-year-old man from Middleborough who sustained serious injuries in a van crash last May when the seatbelts tying down his wheelchair broke.

Bill aims to toughen license laws, Boston Globe, October 7, 2009 Continue reading

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On Saturday morning, a 16-year-old student at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute was hit by a car as she rode her bike. According to police, the bike accident occurred at 11:13am when an 81-year-old driver turned left onto Washington Street from Boston Street and failed to stop in time to avoid hitting the bicyclist.

The bike accident victim was initially diagnosed with a severely sprained ankle but was later taken to Massachusetts General Hospital to be checked for a possible head injury. Her father told reporters that his daughter suffered a fractured skull. She was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

Police who responded to the call did not issue a citation to the driver, though records from the Registry of Motor Vehicles show he was cited for failure to stop in 1984.

Lynn bicyclist hit by elderly driver, The Daily Item, October 7, 2009 Continue reading

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According to the Boston Globe, a car crash last Monday on Morrissey Boulevard near the entrance to University of Massachusetts-Boston injured five people. All suffered non-life-threatening injuries, said a police spokesman. Two of the car accident victims were taken to Tufts Medical Center. The other two were taken to Boston Medical Center.

The auto accident reportedly occurred when a car traveling southbound on Morrissey Boulevard made an illegal U-turn. It crashed into another vehicle and a street sign, propelling the car on top of the northbound vehicle.

A UMass-Boston student who witnessed the crash pulled the driver of the southbound vehicle out of the driver’s seat. Another student pulled a person out of the passenger seat. Three people remained trapped in the back seat until firefighters cut the roof of the car open and removed them.

Five injured in Morrissey Boulevard crash, Boston Globe, September 29, 2009 Continue reading

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