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One killed in crash on Route 3 in Chelmsford

E-mail|Link|Comments () December 1, 2009 07:14 PM

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

CHELMSFORD Ч A worker participating in an oil spill cleanup was killed and a second one was seriously injured today when a car crossed illegally into the breakdown lane on Route 3 northbound and struck them, State Police said.

A Seabrook, N.H., man employed by United Oil Recovery Inc. of Connecticut was killed instantly when the 2001 Acura MDX driven by Juanita McKenzie, 33, of Lowell, pinned him between her vehicle and a tractor trailer truck working on the roadway, according to State Police. The worker, whose name was not released, was dropping off a waste receptacle to an environmental crew from a second, unnamed company that was removing contaminated soil from a fuel spill that occurred last week.

ССWeТre shocked,ТТ said William Morris, the environmental services director for United Oil Recovery, today. Morris confirmed in a phone interview that the deceased was one of his employees.

ССOur hearts go out to the family,ТТ he said. Morris would not elaborate on the worker since the family had not been notified yet.

Morris said the worker was making a simple drop-off at the clean-up site, near Drum Hill Square, and typically would only have been on scene for a few minutes.

A second worker, who also was not named, was seriously injured and taken by MedFlight helicopter to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. His condition was not known.

McKenzie was also seriously injured and taken by ambulance to the Lahey Clinic in Burlington. Her condition was not known tonight, and State Police spokesman Sergeant David Mahan would not comment on any possible charges she could face.

The workers were part of a crew cleaning up the remnants of a fuel spill from last week, according to Adam Hurtubise, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. The crew was not affiliated with the DOT, Hurtubise said, but were hired to clean up the spill.

The driver of a passing car, George Peterson, 61, of Chelmsford, also collided with McKenzie, but was not injured, State Police said. Peterson said his basset hound, Scrappy, who he called his ССbuddy dog,ТТ was seriously injured and taken to Nashua, N.H., for emergency surgery for a ruptured bladder. His condition was not known tonight.

Outside Chelmsford police headquarters, Peterson said the incident was shocking.

The crash occurred at 10:40 a.m., Mahan said. Route 3 northbound was closed for about three hours. The southbound lanes were closed for a short time also as the helicopter arrived to transport the second worker.

Police said there were lighted signs warning drivers about the construction zone and the closed breakdown lane in that part of Route 3 northbound.

Mahan said a state trooper was on duty working a detail at the site. The normal speed limit is 55 miles per hour in that stretch of roadway, but local Chelmsford Police Chief James F. Murphy said drivers regularly exceed 75 there.

Murphy said that his department constantly stresses and trains officers on safety in work areas. ССIf drivers obeyed the traffic laws, things would be a lot safer out there,ТТ he said.

The crash remained under investigation tonight. State Police, Chelmsford police and fire, the state medical examiner, and DOT were investigating.

Globe Correspondent Michaela Stanelun contributed to this report.
John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com.