A Massachusetts state police accident reconstruction team arrived on the Island overnight following a fatal two-car crash on Beach Road in Vineyard Haven late Saturday.
State police spokesman David Procopio confirmed late Saturday that one individual died in the crash; Tisbury fire chief Greg Leland said three others were transported to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital with injuries. The condition of the individuals was not immediately available.
Early Sunday Tisbury police chief Mark Saloio confirmed that Beach Road had reopened and that the family of the victim had been notified. The state police crash team arrived on Island overnight and completed their work at 3 a.m., the chief said.
No names have been released yet. All other information will come through state police, who have jurisdiction and are investigating the crash, he also said.
The incident occurred between Wind’s Up and the R.M. Packer Co. wharf at approximately 8:10 p.m. Saturday, according to Tisbury police and fire officials at the scene, with one car flipped and the top of another severely damaged. Glass and debris from both cars were visible in the roadway. Chief Leland said that the collision was head-on.
“We responded to and are investigating a two-vehicle crash on Beach Road, Tisbury,” Mr. Procopio wrote in an email to the Gazette around midnight Saturday. “The occupant of one of the vehicles is deceased. The investigation is ongoing to determine if criminal charges are warranted against the driver of the other vehicle. The investigation is being conducted by the Oak Bluffs Barracks with assistance from the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, Crime Scene Services Section, and State Police Detective Unit.”
Tisbury police officers at the scene said they were assisting state police in the investigation.
No other details regarding the investigation were available, and state police troopers at the scene were not available for comment Saturday evening.
Beach Road was closed to traffic Saturday from 8 p.m. onward in both the Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven directions as the Tisbury, Oak Bluffs and state police, as well as Tisbury and Oak Bluffs emergency services departments, responded to the incident.
Officials did not know how long the road would be closed, but said it depended on whether the state police decided to investigate the incident as a crime scene.
By approximately 10 p.m., most Tisbury fire and EMS officials had left the scene, although multiple police cruisers and state troopers remained.
“We will provide more information later on Sunday,” Mr. Procopio wrote in the email.
Updated to include comments from state police late Saturday and Sunday morning information from Tisbury police.
