2 dead in crash
Three trucks involved in chain reaction crash
EAST PROVIDENCE – A slow down in traffic on Route 195 west just before Exit 8, Route 114/Pawtucket Avenue, resulted in a chain reaction crash involving two tractor-trailer trucks and a smaller box truck in which both occupants died, according to the State Police.
State Police Colonel Ann C. Assumpico issued a statement later identifying the victims as Steven Magan, 40, of Palmer, Mass. the operator of the box truck, and his passenger, Axel Moran, 38, of Marlboro, Mass. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Assumpico.
The 10 a.m. crash occurred when the first tractor-trailer heading west slowed, with the box truck occupied by the victims following behind, Laura Meade Kirk, the State Police director of public information, said later.
The second tractor-trailer then ran into the rear of the box truck forcing it into the rear of the first tractor-trailer, according to Kirk.
The occupants of the box truck, listed in some reports as an extended van type vehicle, were crushed in the resulting wreckage between the two larger vehicles. East Providence Rescue personnel and firefighters responded to the highway scene in an attempt to assist the victims and extricated them from under the rear of first tractor trailer where the wreckage had become lodged.
Kirk reported the driver of the first tractor trailer was not injured. The driver of the second tractor-trailer, the vehicle striking the box truck, was transported to Rhode Island Hospital for what were described as non-life threatening injuries, according to Kirk.
The efforts to free the victims and clear the wreckage required the closing of all but the breakdown lane of the westbound side of I-195 for about five hours Tuesday morning and afternoon, according to State Police.
The high speed lane of the east side of the highway was also closed for a time while the accident debris was cleared, State Police said.
Kirk said the crash remains under investigation by the Rhode Island State Police Forensic Services Unit, the Commercial Enforcement Unit, the Collision Reconstruction Unit and the Lincoln Wood Barracks, along with the Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s Office.
Information or findings on any possible charges or citations related to the accidents would not be available while the investigation continued, according to Kirk.