Driver charged in fatal multi-vehicle crash on Massachusetts Turnpike that seriously injured another

One person has lost their life and another is being charged after a multi-vehicle crash.

According to Dave Procopio of the Massachusetts State Police, at 3:22 p.m. Friday, Troopers from the Massachusetts State Police Barracks in Lee responded to a crash on the eastbound side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Becket. 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, of Ludlow, 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 District Attorney’s Office, he will be charged criminally. His name and the exact charges will be released by the District Attorney’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 Troop B of the Massachusetts State Police, the State Police Detective Unit for Berkshire County, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, the State Police Crime Scene Services Section, the State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section, and the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office. Troopers were assisted on scene by Lee Fire and EMS and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

The rescue response and crash investigation required lane closures at various times until 8:40 p.m.