Vehicle fluids may have caused tunnel accidents, police say

The Interstate 93 tunnels could have made for a demolition derby scene over the weekend, with State Police responding to close to 20 accidents over a six-hour span.

No one was seriously injured, and the accidents mostly involved one car at a time.

State officials and police said the majority of the accidents could have been caused by fluids - including hydraulic fluids and antifreeze - spilling from an accident at about 9:14 p.m. Saturday on the northbound side of the expressway, just south of Exit 23.

In that accident, a Hyde Park man, 24-year-old Christian A. Martinez, drove his 2002 Honda Civic into a wall. He was not seriously injured. Lieutenant Eric Anderson of the State Police said Martinez was issued a citation.

Soon after that accident, police responded to a series of others in the same area that may have been a result of the fluid spills.

"There shouldn't be any environmental factors other than what was man-made," Anderson said. He said the accidents remain under investigation.

Among the more serious crashes, 25-year-old Prince Smith of Dorchester was taken to New England Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening after his 1998 Ford Taurus smashed into a wall, police said.

About 3:30 a.m. Sunday, Serena Blundell, 29, of Malden, suffered minor injuries when her Dodge Durango went into a wall in the tunnel. A passenger, Traci Martineau, 31, of Malden, also suffered injuries.

By 4:10 a.m., police had responded to at least 10 calls of accidents in the same area, south of Exit 23.

Mac Daniel, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, said crews shut down two lanes of the northbound Expressway Sunday morning to clean up spills. He said officials have not determined the cause of the accidents, and that State Police are investigating.

Police responded to several other accidents in the tunnels overnight Saturday, but it was not clear yesterday if the accidents were related to those near Exit 23.

Anderson said the tunnels and their tight exits are hot spots for accidents and that spills from accidents are typically cleaned up quickly.

In one of the accidents, at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, a Transit Police cruiser was involved in a crash at the exit that leads from the Massachusetts Turnpike onto Interstate 93 south.

The cruiser was carrying a prisoner, but the prisoner and the officer were not injured, Anderson said.

He did not have information on the prisoner yesterday. At least two other accidents occurred in the same area overnight, Anderson said.

Also, police responded to several accidents in the area of Exit 26 on the northbound side.

Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com.