5 people dead after 2 crashes

Pembroke, Sturbridge hit by driving tragedies

Five people are dead after a pair of fatal crashes in Pembroke and Sturbridge on Friday and Saturday during a deadly weekend on Massachusetts roads, State Police confirmed.

Three people died after a wrong-way driver on Route 84 in Sturbridge collided head-on with another car near exit 6B just after 6 p.m. on Saturday, police said.

“The facts and circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation,” State Police spokesman David Procopio said in a statement.

Police identified the wrong-way driver as 40year-old Deyja Jackson of Worcester. In the second car was 83-year-old Irene Karam of Manchester, N.H., and 62-year-old Patricia Knauer of Deland, Fla.

After receiving several calls about a car traveling west in the eastbound lane, State Police patrols began converging in an attempt to locate and stop the driver, but were unable to do so in time, Procopio said.

In Pembroke, the hockey community is mourning after two former high school players died in a crash during the early-morning hours on Friday.

Joseph Birolini, 23, of Hanson, and William Hickey, 23, of Pembroke, were traveling on Elm Street just before 1 a.m. when the car, driven by Hickey, crossed the center line, left the road, collided with a tree, flipped over and hit a utility pole, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said.

Both men played hockey for Pembroke High School and graduated in 2016.

“We lost two outstanding young men today who positively impacted everyone around them,” Pembroke hockey said in a tweet Saturday evening. “Our condolences to the Birolini and Hickey families. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”

Firefighters had to use

“mechanical means” to free Birolini, State Police said. Hickey was located outside of the car. Both were taken to South Shore Hospital where Birolini was pronounced dead. Hickey succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, police said.

Police said speed and inclement weather may have been factors in the crash but they are still investigating the cause.

Courtesy of dAvid CurrAn FATAL CRASH: Two former Pembroke High School hockey players, Joseph Birolini and William Hickey, died in a crash Friday night on Elm Street in Pembroke.