Truck Driver Facing Motor Vehicle Homicide Charge in Fatal Crash
Update 4:29 p.m., April 26: Stanley Kardys, 67, of West Granby, Conn., is facing a single count of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation related to a collision on the Massachusetts Turnpike on Friday evening.
Kardys allegedly failed to brake properly when approaching slower traffic around the 14.8-mile mark in Becket at approximately 4:35 p.m. The tractor-trailer he was operating collided with the rear of a Toyota Camry driven by 69-year-old Gary Litwin, of Ludlow.
Litwin's vehicle subsequently collided with the rear of a Toyota Sienna, driven by Marinalva Silva, 39, of Springfield. EMS transported Litwin and his wife, Diane Litwin, 66, to Baystate Medical Center, where Gary Litwin died and Diane Litwin received medical treatment. EMS transported Silva to Berkshire Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
The court has not yet scheduled the arraignment.
BECKET, Mass. — A Ludlow man was killed Friday when his car was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer on the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Troopers from the state police barracks in Lee responded to a crash on the eastbound side of the MassPike in Becket at about 3:22 p.m. The crash involved a Freightliner tractor-trailer, a 2020 Toyota Camry, and a 2008 Toyota Sienna van.
Preliminary investigation by state police and the Berkshire District Attorney's Office indicates that the tractor-trailer was eastbound approaching Mile Marker 15 when traffic in front of the truck began to slow because of traffic. Evidence suggests the truck struck the rear of the Camry and pushed that car into the Sienna.
Both occupants of the Camry were transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. The operator, identified as Gary Litwin, 69, was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The passenger, a 66-year-old Ludlow woman, sustained serious injuries.
The operator of the tractor-trailer, a 67-year-old man from West Granby, Conn., was not injured. Following investigation by troopers and the DA's Office, he will be charged criminally. His name and the exact charges will be released by the DA's Office on Monday.
The operator of the Sienna, a 39-year-old West Springfield woman, was transported to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield for examination of possible injuries.
The investigation is being conducted by state police from Troop B, Detective Unit for Berkshire County, Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, Crime Scene Services Section, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section, and the DA's Office. Troopers were assisted on scene by Lee Fire and emergency medical services and the state Department of Transportation.
The rescue response and crash investigation required lane closures at various times until 8:40 p.m.
Tags: fatal, MassPike, motor vehicle accident, MVI,
