Police Identify Victims in Fatal Crash Between Airport Shuttle, Car

• By Alison Bauter, Patch staff

BOSTON, MA — State Police have identified the two people killed Wednesday afternoon, and provided additional information on those hospitalized in this morning's crash between a car and an airport shuttle bus in East Boston.

Police confirmed on Twitter at approximately 2:30 a.m. that there were two fatalities in a crash on Route 1A North past the Ted Williams Tunnel, near Logan International Airport.

According to State Police, a 2005 Subaru Legacy exiting the Ted Williams Tunnel struck the back of an airport shuttle bus operated by Hampton Inn. The impact caused the bus to veer left, hitting the jersey barrier, then swerve into the barrier on the right side, State Police said.

Two people riding on the bus were thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

This afternoon, police identified the deceased as Joseph A. Rodriguez, 59, and Sandra L. Arreola, 47, both from El Paso, Texas.

The shuttle bus driver, a 53-year-old East Boston man, remains hospitalized at Tufts Medical Center with what State Police call non-incapacitating injuries. The other two riders were a 57-year-old woman, also from El Paso, and a 45-year-old man from Tampa, Florida. The woman remains hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital with serious injuries and the man has been released from Tufts Medical Center after being treated for injuries there, State Police said.

The 27-year-old Swampscott man driving the Subaru was the only person in his vehicle at the time, and also remains at MGH with non-life threatening injuries, State Police said. His name is not being released at this time.

Although the shuttle is equipped with seatbelts, State Police said it is not yet certain whether the victims were wearing them at the time.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing to determine whether criminal charges will be sought.

Traffic was detoured for most of the early-a.m. hours as the roadways were cleared and state troopers investigated the scene. All lanes reopened at about 7:15 a.m., according to State Police.

Editor's Note: Due to an updated description by State Police, Patch has amended its previous story to identify the airport shuttle as a bus, rather than a van, and to correctly identify the hospitals to which each patient was taken.

>> Photo courtesy Jennifer Eagan, WHDH 7News