Two weekend crashes result in fatalities in region
Police are continuing to investigate unrelated weekend crashes that left two people dead in Granby and on Route 2 in Gill.
A 28-year-old Granby woman died Saturday, July 1, as a result of injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision that took place around 1:15 a.m. on Pleasant Street in Granby.
The Gill crash occurred on Route 2 near Barton Cove around 4 p.m. Friday, June 30, leaving Athol resident Tracy Matthews, 57, dead. She was the operator of a vehicle involved in a two-car collision.
These are the details of the fatal collisions:
The Granby crash occurred near the intersection of Pleasant and Barton streets when a Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling northbound on Pleasant street lost control, crossed into the southbound lane, rolled over and struck a Lexus SUV. The female passenger from the Cherokee was transported by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where she was pronounced dead. Her identity is not being released pending notification of next of kin.
The driver of the Cherokee, a 30-year-old Granby man, was transported to Baystate Medical Center for treatment of what investigators said were non-life-threatening injuries; and the driver of the Lexus, a 74-year-old Springfield man, was taken to Holyoke Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
The intersection of Pleasant Street and Barton Street was shut down for about eight hours as police investigated and workers attended to damaged telephone poles and downed power lines.
Granby Police, State Police Detectives assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, troopers with the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the Crime Scene Services Section are investigating the crash. No charges have been filed. The crash remains under investigation.
In the Gill collision Friday, investigators say a Mazda MX5 Miata convertible traveling westbound on Route 2 crossed into the eastbound lane, striking head-on a Chevrolet Cobalt sedan driven by Tracy Matthews.
Matthews was transported by ambulance to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, where she was pronounced dead. Two others involved in the collision, a 63-year-old Needham man who was driving the Miata, and the passenger in Matthews’ car each were also transported to the hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
State Police Detectives assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, troopers with the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the Crime Scene Services Section responded to the scene and are continuing their investigation. No charges have been filed.
Criminal charges are based on probable cause to believe a person has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.