Authorities release name of 34-year-old victim in fatal Plymouth County crash

BRIDGEWATER — Police Chief Christopher D. Delmonte and Acting Fire Chief John Schlatz report that the Bridgewater Police and Fire Departments responded to a fatal single-vehicle crash on Sunday night.

At approximately 10:50 p.m., Bridgewater Police and Fire received a 911 call for a report of a car that had crashed into a tree in the area of 46 Auburn Street.

Upon arrival, first responders located a 2006 Chevy Avalanche up against a tree with significant damage. Firefighters immediately began working to extricate the driver from the vehicle and rendered first aid.

The driver and sole occupant, 34-year-old Linneaus Gitonga of Rockland, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The preliminary investigation indicates that the Chevy Avalanche was traveling east on Auburn Street at a high rate of speed and veered off the roadway. It struck a parked and unoccupied pickup truck, then the tree.

Auburn Street was closed between Flagg and Laurel Streets during the investigation and reopened at 3:15 a.m.

Family of Gitonga are dealing with the sudden and tragic loss and are holding on to memories.

The crash remains under investigation by Bridgewater Police Detectives, assisted by the Taunton Police Department Accident Reconstruction Team, and Plymouth County Bureau of Criminal Investigation.