A single-car accident in Oak Bluffs early Wednesday morning resulted in the death of the driver and left a passenger critically injured, state police and Oak Bluffs safety officials confirmed.
State police identified the driver as Micah P. Anderson, 28, of Grand Rapids, Mich. According to a press release the passenger, a 46-year-old Spencer man, was transported by ambulance to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and from there, by medical helicopter, to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He suffered serious injuries, police said.
Oak Bluffs fire chief Nelson Wirtz said Wednesday that the passenger, whose name has not been released, is expected to survive.
The accident occurred at 12:49 a.m. at the curve connecting New York and Temahigan avenues. Speed was a factor, according to police. “Preliminary investigation indicates that the driver failed to negotiate a turn, went off the road, struck a guardrail, and entered a yard, where the car struck two trees,” the state police press release said.
Emergency responders arrived at the scene shortly after the accident. The operator of the vehicle, a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Chief Wirtz said while an emergency medical evacuation was initially unavailable due to weather conditions, the passenger was transferred to a mainland hospital later that night via helicopter.
The investigation remains ongoing and is being conducted by state police in the Oak Bluffs barracks, with the assistance of Oak Bluffs police, the state police collision analysis and reconstruction section, and the state police crime scene services section. The scene was cleared at 4:30 a.m.
