Police Search For Dump Truck Driver In Fatal Route 128 Crash
BURLNGTON (CBS) — State police are looking for a dump truck wanted in connection with a fatal crash on Route 128 south in Burlington Tuesday afternoon.
Investigators believe two men were in the truck when a mattress flew off the back of it and landed on the highway.
The truck did not stop, but two vehicles, a Toyota Corolla and a Toyota Tundra, collided.
The driver of the Corolla, identified Wednesday as 56-year-old Frida Litvak of Framingham, was rushed to Lahey Clinic where she died.
The Tundra driver, Andrew Lawendowski, 43, of Charlton, suffered minor injuries in the accident.
State police say both drivers were wearing seat belts at the time of the collision.
State Police Sgt. Jeffrey Joachim believes the dump truck driver was at least aware that the mattress flew off the truck.
"We have witnesses who saw them stop about a mile south of the accident re-securing their load and then they continued to drive on 95 southbound," Sgt. Joachim said. "They had to (know) because they stopped to re-secure the load."
The large dump truck had a white cab and possibly black netting or a tarp partially covering the bed.
The bed is reported to be dark with wood along the sides.
"At the time of the crash, it was reported to be occupied by two males and carrying multiple additional mattresses," State Police said in a statement Wednesday.
"The media is asked to request that any of their viewers/readers with information on this incident or the vehicle being sought contact the Concord State Police Barracks at 978-369-4100."
Frida Litvak's family also put out a plea for help finding the driver of the truck police are looking for. "I don't want it to happen to other people. Hopefully this person is caught. I don't want anyone else to have to go through what we are going through right now," said her sister Galinda Litvak.
They say she had left work early to pick up her blind 80-year-old father to bring him to a doctor's appointment Tuesday. She never made it. "She was very close with my father. She was his eyes and ears," said her sister. The family escaped as refugees from their native Ukraine in 2000. Since then, Frida Litvak learned English, earned a master's degree, and became a social worker at the Eliot Community Center.
"We are all going to miss her terribly, everyone she touched," said a family friend Myrna Winter, who met Litvak through the Jewish Family Service of Metrowest. "She had many friends."
Frida worked at Eliot Community Human Services, a non-profit in Lexington.
The company released this statement Wednesday:
"We are utterly shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic death of Frida Litvak. She dedicated her life to working with disabled adults. Frida approached every day with optimism, compassion and love. She was a friend and advocate of individuals with mental illness, managing a program for Eliot. We are mourning the loss of a wonderful woman and our thoughts are with her family and friends.
WBZ-TV's Christina Hager contributed to this report.
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