UPDATE
Based on investigation conducted throughout the night and the development of further information, evidence now suggests that the victim in this crash was ejected from her vehicle after she lost control of it, and then was subsequently struck by the other vehicle as she lay on the roadway.
Preliminary crash reconstruction suggests that the victim, for reasons still under investigation, lost control of her Ford Escape. The Escape exited the travel lane and hit the guardrail, then was redirected back onto the roadway. During that sequence of events, evidence suggests the victim was ejected onto the roadway, while the vehicle continued northbound, unoccupied, and exited the roadway to the right and came to rest in the woodline. The victim was then struck in the roadway by the Honda CRV.
The victim is identified as Kristina Lee, 43, of Tewksbury.
At some point after the Ford Escape was towed to a tow yard, the two operator reported that the Ford had caught fire and was fully engulfed. The fire was extinguished by Wilmington Fire. The Ford sustained further damage in the fire. This crash remains under investigation by State Police.
This is a preliminary summary of the investigative findings thus far and is subject to change as the investigation continues.
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Initial release, Wednesday, July 8, 2020 1:36 AM
State Police Investigating Fatal Crash on Route 93 in Wilmington
Massachusetts State Police remain on scene at this hour investigating a fatal crash on Route 93 northbound between Exits 38 and 39.
Preliminary investigation by Troopers from the State Police-Andover Barracks, assisted by specialty units, suggests the victim, a 43-year-old Tewksbury woman, was struck by a motor vehicle and killed as she was on foot in the right travel lane. Preliminary investigation suggests the victim was on foot because she had previously crashed her vehicle, a 2002 Ford Escape, into the woodline to the right of the roadway and walked away from the vehicle.
The vehicle that struck her while she was on foot, a 2004 Honda CRV operated by a 24-year-old Methuen man, remained at the scene.
Troopers responded to the scene at 10:30 p.m. The facts and circumstances of the incident — including why the victim initially went off the road and crashed in the woodline — remain under investigation by Troop A of the Massachusetts State Police, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section.
The left lane at the crash site has been reopened at this time; other lanes remain closed to facilitate the ongoing crash reconstruction.
No further information, including the victim’s name, is being released tonight.
