Victims In Fatal Westport Head-On Crash Identified
WESTPORT (CBS) -- The three people killed in a head-on collision between a livery vehicle and a car on Route 195 Wednesday have been identified.
Massachusetts State Police said Thursday that John Oliveria, 68, of Dartmouth, Josephine Mazzocca, 55, of New Bedford, and Karonlyne Camile Lima, 23, also of New Bedford, were killed in the crash.
The crash happened between Exits 10 and 11 in the eastbound lanes in Westport just after 8 a.m., causing the closure of that stretch of I-195 for several hours and the diversion of traffic to Route 88.
State Police said Oliveria was driving a Dodge Caravan livery van owned by Regal Transit that crossed from the westbound to the eastbound side of I-195, passing over a grass median and colliding head-on with a BMW in which Lima was a passenger.
Mazzocca was pronounced dead at the scene. Lima was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford and Oliveria was taken to Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, where both were pronounced dead.
Police still don't know what caused Oliveria to cross into the opposite lane of traffic, but said one possible explanation they're investigating is that Oliveria may have had a medical incident.
Several others were also injured in the crash, which involved five vehicles in total.
A 56-year-old New Bedford man who was in the rear of the van, and a 25-year-old Fall River man who was driving the BMW were both taken to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
A three-year-old boy who was in the rear of the BMW was taken to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence.
In a secondary crash caused by the main head-on collision, the BMW hit a Subaru Outback driven by a 27-year-old Waterbury, Vermont man. The crash caused the Subaru to burst into flames, and that driver was taken to Rhode Island Hospital.
An Audi A4 driven by a 34-year-old Fall River man and a Chevrolet Suburban driven by a 73-year-old Barrington, Rhode Island man were also involved in the crash. Both drivers were not hurt.
