Massachusetts State Police have arrested the man they say severely beat a woman following a crash last week on Interstate 93 in Methuen.
Joseph Falero, 37, of Manchester, N.H., was arrested Monday morning and taken into custody on a warrant charging him with assault with intent to murder.
The warrant was obtained late last week following what police say was a minor accident that left a woman badly beaten on March 6.
The accident took place around 8:20 p.m., with troopers from the Andover barracks responding to a report of a 30-year-old woman being assaulted on the side of Route 93 northbound. Officers found the victim in a state of shock, covered in mud and snow with significant injuries including facial lacerations.
Police say the woman’s car was sideswiped by a male driver in a Honda Civic, and when she tried to call for help, he started to beat and kick her in the face, neck and back. The suspect, later determined to be Falero, fled before officers arrived.
His Honda Civic was later found abandoned in Manchester.
Falero, who also faces several motor vehicle violations, was charged as a fugitive from justice and will be held in New Hampshire before being returned to Massachusetts to face prosecution.