State Trooper Among 5 Hurt In Crash On I-93 In Boston
BOSTON (CBS) – A Massachusetts State Police trooper was one of five people injured after a speeding car hit a cruiser and pushed it into a third car on Interstate 93 in Boston.
The crash happened around 2:45 a.m. on I-93, near Exit 18.
Police say a 37-year-old trooper was in his cruiser on the far right side of the road, with emergency lights flashing while responding to a previous two-car crash in the area. The trooper was taken to the hospital and later released.
A 2014 Honda Accord was traveling at a high rate of speed, police said, when it slammed into the cruiser.
A 24-year-old Everett man was behind the wheel. A 27-year-old Everett man was a passenger in the car, along with a 29-year-old man and a fourth person. Investigators say they were not wearing seat belts.
The impact of the crash pushed the cruiser into the roadway, and it struck another car before coming to a rest on the left side of the road facing the opposite direction from where it had initially been parked.
State Police said multiple people, including the trooper, were unconscious after the crash.
The trooper was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with a concussion, a cut to his head, and other injuries. He was released from the hospital on Saturday afternoon.
Initial investigation shows the trooper was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash, even though his cruiser was parked.
Two people in the front seat of the Accord were removed from the car and taken to Tufts Medical Center. Two people from the backseat were brought to Boston Medical Center.
The driver in the third car, a 55-year-old Boston woman, was not injured.
Police said the extent of the injuries suffered by the other driver and passengers is not known, though they are believed to be "potentially serious."
A tow truck was on scene when the trooper was struck, but because of the way the cruiser was positioned when it was hit, the truck was not impacted.
The driver that slammed into the cruiser will face charges, though police have not yet said what they will be.
"The details of this morning's crash bear many similarities to the March crash that took the life of Trooper Thomas Clardy on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Charlton," said State Police spokesman Dave Procopio.
"Once again, it is a jarring reminder of the dangers faced by state troopers and all emergency and road maintenance personnel who put themselves at risk in the service to others on our roadways."
WBZ-TV's Jim Smith contributed to this report.