Crime & Safety

Sagamore bridge hit-and-run kills man, injures many on July Fourth

A hit-and-run accident killed one man, injured many others and completely shutdown the Sagamore Bridge Thursday night, the Cape Cod Times reports.

The Crash

According to state police, the accident occurred around 8:02 p.m. when a dark-colored pickup merging onto Route 6 struck a 2004 Sierra, forcing the 2004 Sierra across the median onto the opposite lane of traffic. Consequently, a minivan traveling off the bridge westbound and the 2004 Sierra collided head-on.

The dark-colored pickup that allegedly caused the accident fled the scene. 

The driver of the minivan, who has been identified as Israeli, died at the scene. The five passengers, minors who are also from Israel, were taken to area hospitals. Two suffered life-threatening injuries, one of whom is a child.

The driver of the 2004 Sierra, a 43-year-old Sandwich man, was ejected from his car and taken to South Shore Hospital.

The police have not yet released names of the victims. 

The Aftermath

The Sagamore Bridge was completely shut-down from both directions by 10:04 p.m. Traffic was redirected to the Bourne Bridge.

"By 10:45 p.m., the area near the Christmas Tree Shops at 5 Cranberry Highway was gridlock, with 100-plus cars in the store's parking lot, where drivers came to wait for traffic to clear so they could get over the bridge," the Times writes.

State police arrived on scene to investigate and recreate the accident, which emergency officials were on scene collecting the body of the minivan driver.

The Search 

State police are looking for a dark-colored pickup with "minor or moderate damage to its left front-end or side." The truck was last seen headed east on Route 6 onto the Cape from the scene of the accident.

Anyone with information about the truck should call the Massachusetts State Police at (508) 759-4488.


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