By JULIE CUNNINGHAM and CHRIS COLLINS
(Athol, MA) — An Orange man has been killed in a head-on car accident in Athol. It happened at around 5:30 Monday night on South Main Street. The car had been stopped by an Orange Police officer, but drove away. There was no high speed chase, but the car did end up eventually colliding with an SUV a short time later. The 59-year-old driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the SUV was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
According to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, although the vehicle did not stop when the officer attempted to pull it over, there was no high speed chase involved. The Orange police officer had discontinued the pursuit of the vehicle about half a mile before the crash site.
Rescue crews used the jaws of life to free the body of the driver from the wreckage. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. The accident remains under investigation by the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office and the State Police Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Section.