Newbury Woman, 23, Dies in I-495 Crash Sunday

An investigation by Massachusetts State Police, including an accident reconstruction team, is ongoing into the cause of a fatal crash involving two vehicles Sunday morning on Interstate 495 in Merrimac.

A 23-year-old Newbury woman, driving a 2008 Toyota Scion, died after suffering injuries received in the crash on I-495 northbound in Merrimac, which was reported to the Newbury state police barracks at 11:51 a.m., Sunday. The victim, whose identity is being withheld pending notification, was transported to Anna Jacques Hospital, Newburyport, where she later died, according to a statement.

“Preliminary investigation by Trooper Scott Campbell indicates that the female operator of a 2008 Toyota Scion was travelling north on Route 495 in the left travel lane, when for reasons still under investigation, lost control of the vehicle and veered left into the median. The operator attempted to reenter the left travel lane, but swerved across all three lanes hitting a vehicle traveling north in the right lane. The Toyota exited the roadway and struck a tree,” a state police spokesperson said.

The operator and sole occupant of the second vehicle, a Nissan 350Z, was not injured. The northbound right travel lane was closed for nearly two hours until reopened at about 1:45 p.m.

State Police were also assisted on scene by members of the Merrimac Police, Fire and EMS and Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The state police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section is also assisting in the investigation.