Auburn man indicted in fatal I-290 car accident

Last November, there was a violent accident on Interstate 290 in Auburn.

Police accuse a 26-year-old Auburn man of driving drunk and causing the crash that killed a 45-year-old Putnam man.

According to law enforcement officials, the 26-year-old was driving a Jeep on I-290 when he slammed into the back end of a bread truck driven by the Putnam man. The bread truck was forced into a guardrail and the driver was thrown 80 to 100 feet from the truck and on to the highway.

He suffered severe head trauma and died two days later at a Worcester hospital.

According to witnesses, the Jeep kept going after the collision.

Investigators followed a trail of fluids apparently leaked from the Jeep to the Auburn man’s house. After failing field sobriety tests, he reportedly admitted he had been driving the vehicle, but insisted he had only consumed “two to three” alcoholic drinks before driving.

Two days later, he was arraigned on motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of an accident causing death and drunken driving.

Last week, a Worcester County grand jury handed down indictments on charges that include vehicular homicide while driving under the influence of alcohol and manslaughter by motor vehicle.

In an unrelated matter, a Shrewsbury woman has been charged with drunken driving after police said she caused a motor vehicle accident that left two of her passengers with severe injuries.

After responders arrived at the scene of the crash, they found two young women lying on the pavement after apparently being ejected from the vehicle’s back seat.

The Shrewsbury woman had been driving on Greenwood Street and then on Route 20, where she attempted to drive into a parking lot. The driver of another vehicle — apparently proceeding with a green light — slammed into her vehicle.

When people suffer serious injuries as the result of the acts of a drunken driver, they should contact a lawyer experienced in holding the person responsible for their reckless, harmful behavior.

Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette, “Auburn man indicted in November fatal accident on I-290,” April 13, 2013

• Please see our Worcester drunk driving accidents page for more information about our firm.