Local News

Lawrence man killed in crash on Route 495 in Westford

Police said a tractor-trailer "overrode" a pickup truck Thursday evening.

February 16, 2024

1 minute to read

A man from Lawrence died in a crash in Westford Thursday night.

At about 6 p.m., Massachusetts State Police troopers responded to a report of a serious crash on Route 495 northbound near mile marker 84. They discovered a three-vehicle crash.

The crash involved a tractor-trailer that struck a 2022 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, police said. First responders tried to safely extricate the driver of the Toyota, a 26-year-old Lawrence man.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. His identity had not been released as of Friday afternoon. The drivers of the other two vehicles were not injured.

Police believe that the crash occurred when a 2012 Volkswagen EOS traveling in the right lane struck the front-right section of a 2014 Freightliner tractor-trailer that was traveling in the middle lane. The Toyota was traveling nearby in the same direction as the other two vehicles.

The tractor-trailer crossed onto the grassy median on the left side of the highway before moving back onto the roadway and making contact with the Toyota. The Toyota “overturned and was overridden by the tractor-trailer,” police said.

The information released by police is the result of a preliminary investigation. Authorities have not determined why the Volkswagen struck the Freightliner. The incident remains under investigation.