Fall River woman identified as wrong way driver that resulted in five deaths

More information about the vehicles and victims involved in this morning’s deadly crash on Route 495 northbound in Middleborough are as follows. Please note that we are only identifying the victims by gender, age, and hometown today. We are waiting until tomorrow out of respect for the victims’ families in this difficult time, and to let next of kin fully notify extended family members. Full identities will be released tomorrow.

The operator who was driving the wrong way – southbound on the northbound side of the highway – was a 31-year-old woman with a last known address of Fall River. She was driving a 2011 Infiniti G37. Why she ended up driving on the wrong side of the highway, and any contributing factors to her erratic operation, remain subjects of the ongoing State Police investigation.

The other vehicle involved was a 2003 Mercury Sable, driven by a 20-year-old man from Paxton and Osterville. The passengers in the Sable were a 19-year-old Hyannis man; a 19-year-old Harwich man; and an 18-year-old man from West Babylon, N.Y.

All four were students at Massachusetts colleges. We will identify where they were students when we release their names tomorrow.

The facts and circumstances of the crash remain under investigation by Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police with the assistance of the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section.