A juvenile driver going the wrong way on Route 1 was killed early Sunday in a head-on crash in Revere, just south of Sargent Street, according to Massachusetts State Police.
Troopers were sent at about 3:23 a.m. after several people called 911 to report a car heading south in the northbound lanes of Route 1 near the Saugus-Revere line, police said, as reported by Boston 25 News. Before troopers got there, the wrong-way car hit another vehicle head-on.
The wrong-way car was on fire when first responders arrived. Police said the driver died at the scene despite efforts to save him. State Police are not releasing his name because he was a juvenile, “out of respect for his family and loved ones.”
The driver of the other vehicle had minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to a Boston hospital.
All lanes of Route 1 North were closed for hours while State Police investigated, and the road did not reopen until about 8:15 a.m. Police have not said how the driver ended up in the wrong lanes or whether speed or alcohol played a role. The crash is under investigation.
Second deadly wrong-way crash on Route 1 this year
It is the second fatal wrong-way crash on this stretch of Route 1 in six months. Just after 2 a.m. on May 6, a driver going south in the northbound lanes in Lynnfield killed State Police Trooper Kevin Trainor, 30, who had heard the radio call about the wrong-way car and tried to stop it. A report released in July found that the driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.192, more than twice the legal limit, and had been served nine drinks at a Saugus restaurant. A State Police crash reconstructionist concluded that the wrong-way signs were not the cause.
We will update this story when State Police release more information.