Thursday, 4:30 PM
Mom killed, three children hurt in Raynham accident
By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
A car accident in Raynham this afternoon killed a woman and sent an adult and three small children to the hospital, according to police and witnesses.
A dark-colored two-door Chevrolet Cavalier and FedEx delivery van collided on Paramount Drive a few hundred yards from Route 44. Paramount Drive is a loop road that leads into the Center at Raynham Woods, a shopping center and industrial complex that includes a Super Wal-Mart and a FedEx facility.
Jennifer Desrosiers, 28, of Taunton, the driver of the car, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
In the back seat of her car were her children, Giselle Veiga, 5, who was flown to Boston Medical Center, Dylan Desrosiers, 8, and 2-month-old Graceland Veiga, 2, both of whom were transported to Morton Hospital in Taunton. Giselle Veiga suffered a fractured skull, but is expected to survive, hospital officials said.
The other children were treated for minor lacerations and bruises and released, hospital officials said.
Charles B. Desmarais, 47, the driver of the FedEx truck, was treated for minor chest injuries at Morton Hospital and released, hospital officials said.
Police said preliminary evidence suggested that alcohol was not a factor in the crash.
It appears the FedEx truck was traveling north on Paramount Drive when it crossed the grass median and struck Desrosiers’s car, which was traveling south, on the driver’s side. The truck then struck a tree.
A witness, Patrick C. Gomes, 22, was working at Wal-Mart gathering shopping carts in the parking lot when he said he saw the FedEx van jump the median, cross the on-coming lane of traffic, and hit a tree.
"I just heard like a crunching sound, and then I heard a big bang," Gomes said.
It wasn't until Gomes came closer to the scene that he realized the van had collided with the sedan.
Sally Davenport, a spokeswoman for FedEx in Memphis, Tenn., said she did not know the extent of the driver's injuries or have any details about the accident.
"We certainly are seriously concerned about the welfare of those involved and, we will be cooperating fully in the investigation," Davenport said.
