A serious crash on Route 6 in Somerset, Massachusetts, early Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.
Two people, one a teenager, were killed in a crash caused by a drunken driver going the wrong way on Route 6 in Somerset, Massachusetts, on the night of Christmas, state police said Tuesday.
Another person was seriously hurt and all six people involved in the crash were hospitalized, Massachusetts State Police said. The allegedly drunken driver was arrested.
The crash shut Veterans Memorial Bridge, which connects Somerset with Fall River, according to NBC affiliate WJAR. Images from the scene showed two heavily damaged vehicles.
The two people killed in the crash were identified as Floriano Arruda, 73, and his grandson, 15-year-old Jacoby Arruda. Arruda's wife, 68-year-old Donna Arruda, was critically hurt and remained at Rhode Island Hospital Tuesday afternoon, according to the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn. All three lived in Seekonk; police had said they were from Dighton.
The wrong-way driver was identified as Adam M. Gauthier, 41, from New York City. He's being charged with manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide while under the influence, operating under the influence and more, police said.
Gauthier was arraigned Tuesday from St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford, where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries suffered in the crash. He was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail, prosecutors said.
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""This is a terrible tragedy, especially when it occurred on Christmas night," Quinn said in a statement. "My heart grieves for the victims and their family for their terrible loss."
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Two women from Taunton who were in a third vehicle were hospitalized as well, but are also expected to survive, police said. They haven't been identified.
The crash took place about 11:10 p.m. on the westbound side of the bridge, police said. Investigators believe Gauthier was driving a 2023 Land Rover SUV toward Fall River when it hit a 2019 Honda Accord with the two women inside and the 2014 Infiniti QX50 SUV.
Gauthier had previously lived in Somerset, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. His SUV allegedly hit the Arruda's SUV head-on.
State police were still investigating the crash Tuesday afternoon.
