Site Of Deadly Tewksbury Crash Is Notorious Among Local Drivers

TEWKSBURY, MA -- The single-car crash that killed a Wilmington woman early Sunday occurred at an intersection notorious among Tewksbury drivers and fueled speculation that roadway improvements made this year may have actually made the intersection more dangerous. But a review of Tewksbury Police logs suggests the evidence that the intersection is more dangerous is anecdotal at best.

The crash that killed Ryan Giroux, 27, at about 3:45 am Sunday was the second at the intersection of East and Maple Streets that was reported to Tewksbury Police since the completion of major roadwork that was completed at May. The total number of accidents this year, including the two since the road work was completed, is seven.

That's slightly up from 2015 and 2016, when three accidents were reported at the intersection, and 2014, when a total of five accidents were reported. Police logs also suggest that it's a popular place for Tewksbury Police to conduct traffic enforcement; cars tend to travel well above the speed limit on East Street, and there were multiple motor vehicle stops for speeding at East and Maple in the nearly four years of police log accident data reviewed by Patch.

Sunday's crash is still under investigation by Tewksbury Police, the State Police Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Section and the Middlesex District Attorney's office. Giroux lost control of the 2006 silver Buick sedan she was driving. The vehicle left the road and hit a tree on the driver's side. Giroux, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, died on impact.

The roadwork earlier this year included resurfacing and the addition of a guardrail. And while the seven months since the work was completed does not offer a big enough sample size to determine if the intersection of East and Maple Streets is more or less dangerous than it was before the work, Giroux's death fueled anecdotal speculation on social media that the road was worse.

Comments left on the Tewksbury Patch Facebook page following Sunday's accident alternated between condolences for her family. Giroux's brother died four years ago.

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Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).