Speed, alcohol cited in crash
Car plunged off ramp, killing man
Speed and alcohol were key factors in a bizarre weekend accident that catapulted a car over an offramp's concrete barriers and killed a passenger in the vehicle, which fell 70 feet, State Police said.
Albert J. Auprey, 20, of Manchester, N.H., who was driving the 1999
His passenger and friend -- John T. Anderson, 20, also of Manchester -- was declared dead at the scene. The vehicle landed wheels down on the property of
Auprey was listed in fair condition yesterday at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he declined a request for an interview. Family members did not return calls.
The accident toppled a metal light pole and tore away about 50 feet of chain-link fencing atop the ramp's Jersey barriers. State Police investigators estimate the car was moving about 61 miles per hour at crash time. The ramp's speed is posted at 45 miles per hour.
Officials said a Turnpike Authority traffic camera and a camera at Boston Sand and Gravel captured the accident. Officials declined to release the videos, citing the ongoing investigation. Other than the videos, State Police said, there were no known witnesses to the accident. Authorities had thought the crash occurred just before 7 a.m., when Auprey called police. They now believe he had been unconscious before he dialed 911.
One motorist traveling the route hours after the accident said that snow from Friday's storm was packed into a 90-degree angle where the road and Jersey barriers meet, creating a ramp. Rain had followed the snowfall, and some area roads were icy early Saturday .
State Police Lieutenant Michael F. Tobin, station commander for a trooper who works with the Turnpike Authority, said that while "everything is being considered as part of the investigation," he was unsure if a snowbank played "any factor at all in this."
" I don't believe there is any safety factor that exists on that road that has to be corrected," he said. "I think if you hit the wall, your tire is going to cause your car to rise." He said toxicology tests were performed on Auprey, who along with Anderson had attended a St. Patrick's Day party in Boston before the crash. Police do not know where the two were headed when the car tumbled from the ramp. Investigators were awaiting a search warrant yesterday to examine the vehicle. No alcohol was found at the scene, Tobin said.
Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com. 
