Updated: Three of the victims of Middleborough crash have Cape Cod ties

ha102416-memorial-for-students-killed-in-middleboro-crash
MIDDLEBOROUGH
Latest update from Mass State Police: The victims in yesterday’s tragic five-fatality crash on Route 495 northbound in Middleborough are identified as follows:

The operator of the 2011 Infiniti G37, who was operating southbound on the northbound side of the highway, is identified as Valantein V. Burson, 31, of Fall River.

The operator of the 2003 Mercury Sable, the car that was traveling northbound when it was struck head-on by the wrong-way vehicle, is identified as Kraig A. Diggs, 20, of Paxton and Osterville, a student at Anna Maria College in Paxton.

The passengers in the Sable are identified as follows:

  • Jordan J. Galvin-Jutras, 19, of Hyannis, a student at Anna Maria College in Paxton.
  • Jordan J. Fisher, 19, of Harwich, a student at Becker College in Worcester.
  • Cory P. Licata, 18, of West Babylon, N.Y., a student at Becker College in Worcester.

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.

CWN Jake O’Callaghan reports: The Brooks Park basketball court was the scene of a makeshift memorial for the students killed in the multiple fatality crash in Middleborough on I-495 (photo above). 19-year-old Jordan Fisher (identified by his friends), graduated from Harwich High School and a lot of his high school friends turned out to mourn his passing.

Evening update from Mass State Police: 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.

Previous story: Five people were killed in a wrong way crash in Middleborough shortly after midnight. State Police say they were responding to a report of a driver going south in the northbound lanes of I-495 in Middleborough. A short time later troopers came upon the horrific scene. The wrong-way driver had collided with a second vehicle. Four people were in that vehicle, which burst into flames. The identification of the victims is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. That section of the highway was closed for about 5 hours for crash reconstruction and cleanup.

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