Family releases name of 16-year-old Massachusetts girl killed in highway crash

A family member has released the name of a teenager that was killed in a highway crash in Massachusetts.

According to Dave Procopio of Massachusetts State Police, at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday, Massachusetts State Troopers responded to a single-vehicle crash on Route 190 North in Leominster that resulted in the death of a 16-year-old girl.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the girl, an Ayer resident, was a passenger in the 2001 Ford Mustang that went off the highway, down an embankment, and into the wood line.

According to a GoFundMe fundraiser created by a family member, Krystal Mello was the victim in the fatal crash. “Krystal was a beautiful 16-year-old in 11th grade with such a vibrant loving soul with the best personality.” The page has raised over $18,000 as of this writing.

Three other occupants of the Mustang suffered serious injuries. They were an 18-year-old male from Shirley, believed to have been the operator, transported to Leominster Hospital; a 16-year-old girl from Shirley, transported to UMass Hospital-Lakeside; and a 18-year-old male from Bolton, transported to UMass Hospital-Lakeside.

Leominster Firefighters extricated three of the victims who were entrapped in or under the vehicle.

The preliminary investigation indicates that the Mustang was northbound in the right lane. As the Mustang approached other vehicles ahead of it in the right lane, the operator moved into the left lane and lost control of the car. The Mustang spun as it went off the right side of the road.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, with excessive speed being examined as a possible factor. The investigation is being conducted by the State Police-Leominster Barracks, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, the State Police Crime Scene Services Section, and the State Police Detective Unit for Worcester County.