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State police say they’ve responded to ‘well over 200 crashes’ within the last 24 hours
“Patrols were going from one crash to another," authorities said on Twitter.
State police estimated Friday that they had responded to “well over 200 crashes” since 5 p.m. Thursday evening due to the ice and wintry precipitation.
“Patrols were going from one crash to another,” state police said on Twitter.
They also urged people to stay off the roads or to drive slowly if traveling.
As of just after 2 p.m., the state Department of Transportation had 1,430 pieces of equipment working across the state to combat the weather. Large trucks were banned from I-90, and speed was reduced on the interstate to 40 mph.
“@MassDOT crews are dealing with a challenging storm that is changing from rain to snow and back again which reduces the effectiveness of treatment,” Jonathan Gulliver, state highway administrator for MassDOT, said on Twitter.
Of the crashes, a fatality occurred in one between a 2013 Hyundai Elantra and a tractor-trailer on I-495 northbound in Chelmsford around 6:47 a.m., according to state police.
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Elmer Rivas, 48, of Worcester, who was driving the Hyundai, was pronounced dead at the scene. The tractor-trailer driver, a 39-year-old man from Nova Scotia, was not injured.
“The tractor trailer operator explained that Rivas was traveling in the left lane and tried to take the exit cutting off the truck,” state police said.
They didn’t say if this crash was related to the storm.
MassDOT also reported a crash involving a truck and fuel spill near Exit 78 on I-495 northbound around 1:21 p.m., which was clear by 2:18 p.m.
The HOV lane on I-93 was also closed from Boston to Quincy during the evening commute due to the weather, MassDOT said.
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