A routine speed check on Route 133 in Essex turned into a high-speed flight toward Gloucester on Saturday. Police called off the pursuit for safety before later finding the vehicle crashed, with a vehicle fire and four people sent to the hospital. Police say they will seek a long list of charges against a 21-year-old Gloucester man, including drunken driving and assault with a motor vehicle, after an officer first clocked the vehicle at about 50 mph in a 30 mph zone and it later reached around 100 mph near the Gloucester town line, with the driver allegedly refusing to stop.
Speed Check Near Eastern Avenue Escalates Fast
According to Boston 25 News, an Essex officer was conducting speed enforcement near 65 Eastern Avenue, also known as Route 133, on Saturday when the officer recorded a vehicle traveling roughly 50 mph in a 30 mph zone. Police say the driver kept accelerating once the officer tried to initiate a stop, reaching speeds of around 100 mph as he neared the Gloucester town line. The pursuing officer called off the chase for safety reasons, police said, and Gloucester police were notified of the incident so they could watch for the vehicle.
Officers soon found the vehicle after it had crashed into another vehicle near 598 Essex Avenue in Gloucester, per the same account. The suspect's vehicle caught fire after the crash, and firefighters from the Gloucester Fire Department extinguished it, according to news.jgpr.net.
Four People Taken to the Hospital
Two people in the vehicle that was struck were transported to a local hospital for evaluation, the report notes. The 21-year-old driver and a passenger riding in his vehicle were also taken to a hospital, the same source said. The supplied police account does not detail the occupants' conditions beyond confirming they were transported for evaluation.
Police said they would seek a lengthy set of charges against the driver, including speeding, failure to stop for police, operating with a suspended license, operating to endanger, reckless assault and battery with a motor vehicle, and operating under the influence of alcohol, second offense, as reported by Boston 25 News. The driver has not been publicly identified; police said the defendant is not immediately being named since he is being summonsed to court and has not yet been booked. The investigation remains ongoing, and the department noted that all defendants are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Not the First High-Speed Crash on Area Roads
Essex County has seen other serious crashes tied to erratic driving on area roads. In June 2025, an officer observed a vehicle driving erratically on Route 133 from Gloucester before it struck traffic barrels, fled, and later crashed into an Essex home under renovation. That driver was transported by MedFlight to a Boston hospital in critical condition, and the cause of the crash was investigated by Essex Police with help from the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section. In a separate incident the following month, Essex Police said 27-year-old Anthony Maglione of Ipswich was arrested after a single-car rollover crash on Western Avenue, in which his vehicle traveled through two yards and struck a wall before landing on its side near a parked Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90, Section 24 addresses driving under the influence of alcohol, including penalties for second and subsequent offenses, along with provisions covering reckless and unauthorized driving, according to Mass.gov.
