Moped Driver Dead After Martha's Vineyard Crash

OAK BLUFFS, MA — A moped operator from Florida is dead after a crash with an SUV on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts State Police confirmed.

Around noon on August 15, state troopers responded to reports of a two-vehicle crash with serious injuries on Seaview Avenue in Oak Bluffs. Upon arrival, emergency personnel discovered a moped and a Jeep Wrangler were involved in an apparent head-on crash, officials said.

"The preliminary investigation indicates that a moped and Jeep were traveling on Seaview Ave in opposite directions," state police said. "As they approached each other, the operator of the moped lost control, crossed the median, and collided with the Jeep."

The collision caused the moped's operator, Julia Harris, 41, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and a 40-year-old female passenger from Boston to be thrown to the ground. Harris died at the scene and the passenger was airlifted to a Boston area hospital where she is now in stable condition, officials said.

Witness statements, as well as video footage in the area, reveal both occupants of the moped were wearing helmets at the time of the crash.

The operator of the Jeep, a 41-year-old woman from Newark, N.J., was not injured in the crash. The Jeep was also occupied by four other adult women, one of whom suffered minor injuries, officials said.

The exact cause and circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation.