Driver dies after hitting toll booth

Salvatore Dibella's co-workers say he was the perfect employee. For seven years, he delivered finished metal, impeccably, punctually, by the book.

''One thing you could say about him was that he always took his time and made sure things were done right," said Dawn Zuben, office manager at Federal Metal Finishing Inc. in Charlestown.

But yesterday afternoon, on his way to a delivery, something went wrong: For reasons still unexplained, Dibella slammed his 2003 Hino truck into a booth at the westbound Allston-Brighton toll interchange on the Massachusetts Turnpike, the State Police said.

Dibella, 48, died, leaving behind several children and grandchildren.

Motorists were stunned by the 1 p.m. crash, which moved the booth 14 inches and split the truck's cab in half, according to a union representative for the toll takers, one of whom had just left the booth that was hit.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, Trooper Thomas Ryan said. An accident reconstruction team was assisting in the investigation.

Zuben said that Dibella, of Tewksbury, had a clean driving record. Investigators asked his bosses whether he had had any health problems, but they knew of none, she said.

One of the toll takers had left the booth about a minute before the accident, according to Robert F. Cullinane, the secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Union Local 127.

''He's a lucky guy," Cullinane said. ''He was going from booth to booth giving people their breaks. And he was 20 yards away when it happened."

Another toll taker was in a tunnel underneath the booth and told union officials that when the truck hit it sounded like ''somebody dropped a bomb on the place," according to Cullinane.

Cullinane, who visited the crash scene yesterday afternoon, said witnesses said the truck was traveling 50 to 60 miles per hour when it struck the booth. He said he didn't see any skid marks.

The truck struck the Fast Lane barrier first, before plowing into the booth, State Police said.

Traffic was waved through on the westbound side of the Pike while crews cleared the scene.

Heavy equipment had to be called in to lift the roof of the toll booth before the truck could be removed, which didn't happen until 4:15 p.m., more than three hours after the crash.

Zuben informed Dibella's family of his death. ''He has a very large family," she said. ''They are totally devastated."