Three people, including children, were seriously hurt in a series of crashes that closed the Massachusetts Turnpike in both directions, in Charlton on Monday afternoon, Massachusetts State Police say.
Images from the scene showed several trucks involved in multiple crashes.
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In the first, a truck carrying a forklift crashed into the guardrail, setting off a chain reaction crash as a flatbed truck carrying a Jeep swerved to avoid the first truck, according to Massachusetts State Police. The Jeep went flying into the roadway, causing a tractor-trailer to swerve to avoid it. That tractor-trailer then hit a box truck. No one was hurt in the initial crash.
However, as traffic started braking to avoid the first crash, State Police said a bobtail tractor rear-ended a passenger car, forcing it into the back of another tractor-trailer. The car driver suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to a local hospital. Two children who were passengers in the car were also seriously hurt and taken to the hospital by ambulance.
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MassDOT said on X, formerly known as Twitter, around 3 p.m. that Interstate 90 eastbound was closed at exit 85 due to "multiple crashes." About 15 minutes later, they provided an update, saying that the highway is now closed in both directions.
The westbound side of the highway reopened by about 3:40 p.m., but all eastbound traffic was still being moved off at Exit 78, according to MassDOT. Interstate 84 was also closed at I-90 and being detoured onto Route 20.
Images showed a tractor-trailer that appeared to have spun around at one crash site, with at least one damaged vehicle near by. At another site, a Jeep was flipped on its roof near a box truck and a tractor-trailer on the side of the highway.
