A high school senior was killed early Sunday morning in a wrong-way crash on Route 1 in Revere, Massachusetts. It's the latest in a series of wrong-way crashes on that highway in recent months.
Just before 3:30 a.m., Massachusetts State Police received several 911 calls for a driver who was traveling south in the northbound lanes of Route 1 in the area of Saugus and Revere.
While troopers were on their way to the area, the wrong-way driver slammed into another car head-on just south of Sargent Street in Revere.
When police arrived, they found the wrong-way driver's car completely engulfed in flames. Police and firefighters tried to save him, but he died at the scene. State police said the driver was a minor and will not be identified at this time, "out of respect for their family and loved ones." The Suffolk County District Attorney's office said he was 17 years old.
The superintendent of the Triton Regional School District said the teen was a senior at Triton Regional High School in Newbury.
"Our student was highly involved and connected to many within the Triton community. Those who knew him saw daily how kind and caring he was to each and every member of our school community. We are heartbroken, and as a Community, we grieve this loss. Our deepest condolences go out to the family," Superintendent Brian Forget wrote in a letter to families.
The driver of the second car was taken to a hospital in Boston with minor injuries.
Route 1 was shut down for several hours after the crash. It reopened around 8:15 a.m. It's still not clear why the teen was driving on the wrong side of the road.
It's the latest serious crash involving a wrong-way driver on Route 1 in recent months.
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Kevin Trainor was killed in May just after his shift ended while trying to stop a wrong-way driver on Route 1 in Lynnfield. Less than a month later, a wrong-way driver was charged after a crash on Route 1 in Peabody.
On Monday, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation held a previously scheduled news conference to provide an update on the state's deployment of wrong-way driving prevention systems.
Highway administrator Jonathan Gulliver said nearly 90 systems are fully installed and another 40 will be completed by the end of this year. Gulliver expects another 300 to be completed by the end of 2027.
"There is still a lot of more work to be done, that's evidenced by the terrible crash that happened in Revere this weekend. Something that we want to acknowledge, that this is why we do this is that we want to be sure we have as many protections as we can in place for all drivers of Massachusetts," Gulliver said. "That was a terrible crash that's still under investigation. We don't have any details on that for you today, but that is something we are working with our partners at state police really closely to identify if there's any improvements we can make in that particular area in the future."
According to Gulliver, since the equipment was installed in June, 215 wrong-way driver events have been recorded, leading to 140 drivers self correcting.
"It's tragic and my heart goes out to his family," Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey told reporters Monday. "Know that we're going to stay committed to this and making sure that we have the best technology statewide that's possible to reduce the likelihood of wrong-way incidents on our roads."
