RUSSELL — State police say a woman has died after a tractor-trailer struck her disabled pick-up truck on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Russell.
Police say the woman’s pick-up truck broke down at about 8 p.m. last night in the right hand westbound lane on a part of the highway where there are no breakdown lanes.
Police say the woman’s pick-up truck was struck as the truck was making its way up a hill.
For reasons still under investigation the pick-up truck was stopped in the right travel lane. The tractor-trailer struck the rear of the stopped pick-up truck causing significant damage and injuring the three occupants, one of them fatally.
Maria Eugenia Fajardo, 37, of Pittsfield was declared deceased on scene by the Westfield Fire Department. The operator, Jose Saldana, 30, of Pittsfield and the second passenger , Marcos Contreas, 37, of Pittsfield sustained injuries and were transported by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.
The facts and circumstance of the crash are under investigation by Troop E of the Massachusetts State Police, Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, State Police Commercial vehicle Section, State Police Collision Analysis Reconstruction Section and Crime Scene Services. Troopers were assisted on scene by the Westfield Fire Department and Mass Department of Transportation.
