One Dead In Norton Crash On Interstate 495

Troopers from the State Police Barracks in Foxboro responded to calls of a crash about 7:30 Thursday morning on Route 495 northbound in Norton.

The preliminary investigation by Trooper Michael Ferrari indicated that a 1998 Saturn SL2 was travelling southbound in the high speed lane when another vehicle changed lanes in front of it. The driver of the Saturn swerved off the left side of the roadway into the median, crossed the median and entered the northbound high speed lane. The Saturn was struck in the passenger side by an oncoming 2005 Nissan Maxima, operated by a 29-year-old Fall River woman.

The driver of the Saturn, 31-year-old Dominica E. Howard of Norwood, was not wearing a seatbelt and sustained critical injuries. Howard was transported to Rhode Island Hospital by Norton EMS but was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to state police. The operator of the Nissan that struck Howard’s vehicle is not charged with any wrongdoing and will not be identified.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The operator of the 2007 Ford Edge that changed lanes in front of Howard, a 47-year-old female from Norton, has been located and is cooperating with the investigation.

Troopers from the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, the Crime Scene Services Section and a patrol supervisor from the Troop H Headquarters are assisting with the investigation. The Norton Fire Department and MassDOT assisted at the scene of the crash.