2 killed, 7 injured in massive SUV crash

FALMOUTH -- A sport utility vehicle speeding away from Otis Air National Guard Base after crashing through a steel gate to escape security barreled through a red light at a busy intersection Saturday night, causing a six-car pileup that killed two people and injured seven others, authorities said yesterday.

A green Toyota 4Runner failed to stop at a manned checkpoint at the base about 11 p.m., said Captain Nicole Ivers, a public affairs officer for the 102d Fighter Wing. The vehicle traveled 4 miles through the base before being stopped by guards at a locked gate. When questioned by guards, the two male occupants in the vehicle said they were not in the military; when the guards notified State Police, the driver allegedly gunned the vehicle through a steel barrier and sped off the compound.

About 30 minutes later, the SUV ran a red light at the intersection of Sandwich Road and Route 151 going at least 80 miles an hour and was struck by an eastbound Saab convertible, hurtling it into three oncoming cars and raining debris on a fourth, authorities and witnesses said.

The driver of one of the oncoming cars was pronounced dead at the scene. Six others were treated at Falmouth Hospital. Authorities declined to release their names until they had notified their families.

The two occupants of the SUV were thrown from the vehicle. They were rushed to a Boston-area hospital, where the passenger died yesterday morning. The driver remained in critical condition, according to authorities.

Ivers declined to provide more details about the two men in the Toyota 4runner. State Police did not comment beyond a press release that did not mention the incident at the base.

Chris Maling , 50, of Foxborough, saw the accident in his rear-view mirror as he traveled through the intersection, and quickly pulled over.

"There was debris everywhere, there was carnage in the road," he said. "There was a woman walking with a baby in her arms. It was like a war zone."

Police arrived at the scene within a minute from the direction of Otis Air Force Base, he said.

Mark Sullivan, deputy chief for the Falmouth Fire Department, said the SUV rolled more than 200 feet after the accident and that one of the occupants was thrown 50 feet from the vehicle.

"The total [accident] scene was the size of a football field," he said.

Three of the injured victims were a couple and their baby, he said. Their injuries did not appear serious, he said.

John Neill , 35, who lives near the intersection, said he heard a loud crash just seconds after a car zoomed by. He drove to the scene with a friend who had a flashlight and found a young man in the woods, conscious but badly injured.

"He was struggling to breathe," Neill said, adding that medical personnel arrived soon after.

Diana Gaudet , who also lives near the intersection and saw the aftermath of the accident, said many of the cars were demolished beyond recognition.

"It was awful," she said. "I've never seen anything like that in my life."

Investigators said speed was a factor in the crash and that they were determining what charges to file against the driver of the SUV.

Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com and April Simpson at asimpson@globe.com.