A late-night drive on Interstate 93 ended in tragedy Saturday when police say an 81-year-old wrong-way driver set off a chain-reaction crash that killed a man in his 20s and sent a family of four to the hospital.
State Police said the chaos started around 11:45 p.m. on I-93 northbound near Exit 15A, when a 2004 Cadillac Escalade entered the highway going the wrong direction. The SUV forced two vehicles to swerve, and ultimately slammed head-on into a Chevrolet Cruze, killing its driver, a Haverhill man in his 20s.
The occupants of a Honda Odyssey, described as a family of four, were taken to a Boston-area hospital for evaluation. Their conditions were not detailed by authorities.
Troopers identified the wrong-way driver as 81-year-old Antone Carvalho of Somerset and said he will be issued a summons to appear in court, according to WHDH. Investigators said Carvalho’s Escalade nearly struck the Honda Odyssey and an Audi A4 northbound before Exit 15A, causing those vehicles to collide when drivers swerved to avoid the SUV. Shortly after, the Escalade collided head-on with the Chevrolet Cruze.
As of the most recent State Police statement reported by WHDH, officials had not released the name of the Cruze’s driver.
Statewide Wrong-Way Detection Push
The deadly crash comes just days after the Healey administration rolled out a statewide plan to deploy wrong-way detection and mitigation technology, a move aimed squarely at preventing exactly this kind of nightmare on Massachusetts highways.
The program calls for cameras, enhanced signage and automated alerts designed to spot and flag wrong-way drivers more quickly on major corridors such as I-93. The goal is to give transportation and public safety officials faster warnings when a vehicle is headed the wrong way, according to a state press release on Mass.gov.
Recent Pattern of Wrong-Way Crashes
The I-93 wreck is the latest in a run of wrong-way incidents that have rattled drivers across the region this month and renewed pressure on officials to act.
Reporting by CBS Boston highlighted a June 20 crash on Route 146, where a driver who had fled a traffic stop later drove the wrong way and collided with another vehicle, dying from injuries sustained in that crash. Officials say cases like that underscore the urgency of the state’s new detection push.
Investigation and Next Steps
Massachusetts State Police troopers are still piecing together the exact sequence of events that led to Carvalho entering I-93 in the wrong direction and the subsequent collisions.
Authorities have said Carvalho will be issued a summons to appear in court but have not detailed any formal charges or released additional information about the deceased driver. Investigators have not yet released the victim’s name, consistent with the earlier report.
The crash remains under active investigation. This story will be updated as State Police release more information.
