Two sisters, 3 and 6, and man die in separate crashes south of city

Two young sisters and a 79-year-old pedestrian were killed last night in separate accidents on roadways south of Boston that also left a police officer seriously injured.

Four separate accidents, three in Whitman, occurred during rush hour, the most deadly involving the two girls about 6 p.m. on Route 24 South in Freetown, police reported.

The 19-year-old driver in that crash, Fall River resident Stacey Feliciano, lost control of her 2000 Nissan Maxima, which hit the guardrail and was found suspended in trees, State Police said. Speed appeared to be a factor in that crash, police added.

In the car were Feliciano's 15-month-old baby, a 15-year-old Taunton girl, and two sisters, ages 3 and 6, both of whom were killed. The 3-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, and the 6-year-old died at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River. Police did not say whether the victims were wearing a seat belt or were restrained in a car seat.

Authorities did not know whether the surviving passengers, none of whom were injured, were related.

"We think the 15-year-old might be a cousin, but this is a tough crash," said Trooper Danielle Pires, State Police spokeswoman. "I can't imagine this poor mother. Losing one is hard enough, but two. . . . "

In a separate accident, the 79-year-old pedestrian, a Brockton man, was struck by a car about 5:30 p.m. on Route 14, Auburn Street, in Whitman. An ambulance responding to the accident was involved in another crash on Bedford Street, but no one was injured. Other rescue personnel were able to reach the scene, where they found two off-duty emergency room nurses performing CPR on the man. He was taken to Brockton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities did not immediately release the victim's name.

A minute after the first crash, Whitman rescue teams nearing the pedestrian accident saw a police cruiser overturned in the woods off Auburn Street. The officer, whom WBZ-TV identified as Dean Leavitt, was trapped in the vehicle.

Leavitt was removed from the cruiser about an hour later, after rescue personnel used the jaws of life. Leavitt was undergoing surgery last night at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, a hospital official said.

Police did not release details last night, but WBZ-TV reported the officer was en route to the pedestrian accident when his cruiser collided with a car. A 40-year-old man involved in the crash with Leavitt was taken to Brockton Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.