2 Dead After Wrong-Way Driver Causes Crash On Route 1, State Police Say

SAUGUS (CBS) — Two people died after a head-on collision on Route 1 in Saugus early Saturday morning. Mass. State Police said the crash was caused by a wrong-way driver.

Around 3:30 a.m., the wrong-way driver, identified as 29-year-old Luis Gallego, of Lynn, clipped the back of a box truck and crashed head-on into a Dodge Journey. Gallego’s car then caught on fire, State Police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two people in the Journey were seriously injured. The 51-year-old Peabody man driving was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital. The woman in his car was rushed to Melrose-Wakefield Hospital where she died.

State Police later identified her as Evelyn Pinto, 48, of Peabody.

Mass. State Police said at least two people were killed in a head-on collision on Route 1 in Saugus (WBZ-TV)

The driver of the box truck was not hurt.

Moments before the crash, State Police said they received a call about a wrong-way driver going south on the northbound side of the highway near the Sonic restaurant in Peabody. The crash occurred near the Army Barracks store in Saugus.

Route 1 northbound was closed for hours as police investigated. It is unclear what caused the driver to go on the opposite side of the road.