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Wrong-Way Crashes Leave 1 Dead, Several Injured

BOXFORD (CBS) – A male driver was killed in Fall River and hours later, a woman suffered life-threatening injuries in Boxford in two wrong-way crashes now being investigated by State Police.

About 10 a.m. Wednesday, troopers from the State Police Barracks in Dartmouth responded to reports of a wrong-way driver crash on Route 79 northbound at North Main Street in Fall River.

State Police say Raymond J. Martin, 75, of Somerset, driving a 2003 Nissan Altima, was killed in the crash.

Investigators are trying to determine why Martin was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Route 79, when his Altima collided with a 2011 Ford Escape, driven by a 59-year-old man from Fall River.

Martin was sent to Charlton Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, State Police said. The driver of the Ford was sent by ambulance to Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries.

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Multiple injuries were reported following a crash involving five cars. (WBZ-TV)

About three hours later, in Boxford, a 54-year-old Bradford woman suffered life-threatening injuries in a wrong-way crash that shut down both directions of traffic on Interstate 95 for about an hour.

State Police are investigating what caused the woman, who was driving northbound in a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, to cross the I-95 median into the southbound lanes, and then collide head-on with another vehicle that was traveling southbound, State Police said.

The three-vehicle crash occurred just north of Exit 52 near Topsfield Road in Boxford about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

A preliminary investigation found that when the Jeep driver crossed the median into the southbound lanes, she sideswiped a 2018 Nissan Altima driven by a 68-year-old man from Naples, Florida, and then struck a 2015 Toyota Corolla driven by a 32-year-old man from Everett.

With traffic shut down in both directions, a MedFlight landed on the busy road to transport the Jeep driver to a Boston hospital. She has life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the Toyota and a passenger of the Nissan suffered minor injuries and were both transported to Beverly Hospital. The driver of the Nissan was not injured.

All traffic lanes were reopened in Boxford at 4:10 p.m.

The Boxford police and fire departments and Mass DOT assisted at the scene.

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