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The Massachusetts State Police are investigating an early morning crash between a Somerset Police Department cruiser and a Honda Civic that resulted in the death of the operator of the Civic.
Preliminary investigation by multiple MSP units indicates the cruiser, a marked 2016 Ford Explorer, was traveling south on Route 138 (Riverside Avenue) responding to a call. At the same time, a 1999 Honda Civic operated by a 20-year-old Somerset woman was being operated northbound on Riverside Avenue and was approaching a left hand turn at the intersection with Westhill Avenue. At approximately 12:35 a.m., for reasons still under investigation, the Explorer and the Civic collided. Both vehicles sustained major damage.
The force of the impact caused the Civic to spin and come to final rest facing south in the northbound lane. The young woman who was the sole occupant was extricated from the vehicle by Somerset firefighters and transported to Charlton Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.
The crash impact caused the Explorer to careen into a telephone pole, severing the pole in half. The officer operating the vehicle suffered minor injuries and was transported to Rhode Island Hospital.
The crash remains under investigation by Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police with assistance from the following additional State Police units: Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, Crime Scene Services Section, and Bristol County State Police Detective Unit.
