Police identify victims in deadly Middleborough wrong-way crash
State police have identified the five young people who were killed when a driver going the wrong way on I-495 in Middleborough crashed head-on into another car early Monday morning.The driver of the car that caused the crash was identified Tuesday as Valantein Burson, 31, of Fall River.Burson’s brother, David, told The Boston Globe he doesn’t know where his sister was going when the crash occurred. “We’re just heartbroken,” he told the newspaper. “She was just special.”All four occupants of the car Burson struck were students at Massachusetts colleges, according to police.Kraig Diggs, 20, a student at Anna Maria College and resident of Paxton and Osterville, was driving the Mercury Sable with the students inside, according to police. Jordan Galvin-Jutras, another student at Anna Maria College and a 19-year-old Hyannis resident, was also killed.Police identified the two other students in the car as Jordan Fisher, 19, of Harwich, and Corey Licata, 18, of West Babylon, New York. Both Fisher and Licata were enrolled at Becker College in Worcester.The Paxton and Worcester schools both released brief statements, expressing grief and offering support to students who are mourning their classmates.Digg’s father, Kip, told the Globe his son and his friends were on their way back to school after spending the weekend on the Cape when the crash occurred.“He lit up the room,” he told the Globe. “He had one of those smiles that you just gravitate to, and you start talking. He was very respectful and just a good boy.”Diggs told the newspaper his son and Galvin-Jutras were cousins who grew up together, playing football at Barnstable High School.A former coach posted photos of Diggs on social media, voicing shock at the news of his death.
https://www.facebook.com/sean.walsh.73307/posts/1315026051860939
The Cape Cod fire, rescue, and emergency services department where Galvin-Jutras worked remembered him on Facebook and paid tribute to him at the station in Centerville.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1861012897453388&id=1462799480608067&substory_index=0
Jordan Galvin being remembered by Centerville FD where he interned. He’s 1 of 5 killed in Middleboro crash. @NECN pic.twitter.com/Dfi0L0uA4s
— Katelyn Flint (@KFlintNBCBoston) October 25, 2016
Fisher’s father, Rodney, told WCVB his only son was a freshman at Becker College.
“He was a good kid,” Rodney Fisher said. “I loved him to death. He was all we had.”
Fisher was also a cousin of Diggs, according to WCVB.
“He’s our only child, we’re gonna miss him dearly.” Jordan Fisher’s dad tearfully talks about son killed this am in #Middleboro crash. @NECN pic.twitter.com/LJq5ThFXQU
— Susan Tran (@susantran) October 24, 2016
On Monday, police described the scene of the crash as “horrific,” saying that Diggs would not have had time to avoid Burson and that the car was “engulfed in fire” in the collision.
According to the Globe, Burson received five speeding tickets over the past 11 years.
Police said the crash remains under investigation.
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