Trooper and woman hurt in collision

A 5-year-old girl was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with second- and third-degree burns over 30 percent of her body after an accident in her South End backyard last night, said Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald. The unidentified girl was standing next to a firepit in her family’s backyard on Bradford Street when her dress caught fire after she got too close to the flames, MacDonald said. Firefighters arrived at the scene at 6:32 p.m. and found the girl’s mother holding her, wrapped in towels and blankets. The girl’s condition was unknown late last night.

An 85-year-old Lynn man’s driver’s license has been revoked, State Police said, after he struck a pedestrian with his minivan Thursday night on Revere Beach Boulevard after sideswiping a parked car. The driver, Michele Veneziano, hit a man who was getting out of a parked car at 8:37 p.m., State Police said. The man was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with minor injuries, State Police said. Before Veneziano hit the man, he sideswiped a parked car and kept on driving, State Police said. Veneziano was cited for leaving the scene of an accident that involved property damage, negligent operation, and a marked lane violation. The Registry of Motor Vehicles determined that he was an “immediate threat’’ to public safety.

Former Lynn mayor Patrick J. McManus, 54, who announced last month that he would run again for mayor of the North Shore city, was found dead in his Baltimore Street home yesterday after being stricken while working in his home office, Lynn police said. A cause of death is not yet known, but the case was turned over to the state medical examiner’s office for investigation, police said. McManus served as mayor from 1992 until 2002. He announced last month that he would challenge Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. McManus had recently returned nomination papers with enough signatures to qualify for the Sept. 15 primary election, according to the city’s election office.

A Connecticut man died, and six other people were injured in a crash on Interstate 91 in Springfield, State Police said. Police said a sport utility vehicle with seven people inside clipped a taxi on city streets just after 2 a.m. yesterday. The SUV then drove onto the highway’s southbound lanes, and the taxi followed. The SUV lost control and struck the center guardrail. One passenger in the SUV, 23-year-old David Ray of Enfield, Conn., was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the SUV and five other passengers were taken to Baystate Medical Center with serious injuries. All are from Enfield, Conn. Police said they will seek a criminal summons against the driver, 20-year-old Nathaniel Chisnall, for alleged drunken driving. (AP)

A 50-year-old woman died yesterday morning after her car struck a motorcycle and collided head-on with another car. Police said they believe that speed may have been a factor. They said Laurie King, 50, of Lowell hit a motorcycle with her Chevy Cobalt as she was driving east on Route 133 around 9:30 a.m. Witnesses told police that King was trying to pass the motorcycle, said Tewksbury Police Lieutenant Ryan Columbus. The male motorcyclist was taken to Lowell General Hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.