Massachusetts State Police: 22-year-old dies after injuries sustained in 6 vehicle highway crash

According to Dave Procopio of Massachusetts State Police, at 9:28 p.m. Wednesday, Massachusetts State Troopers and other emergency personnel responded to two related multiple-vehicle crashes on the Massachusetts Turnpike eastbound in Grafton that resulted in the death of a young woman.

Preliminary investigation indicates that a 2012 Subaru Legacy, 2017 Honda Accord, and a 2012 Kia Sorento were involved in a crash. Two of those vehicles collided with the center median barrier and came to rest in the middle and left lanes. The third vehicle struck a guardrail and came to rest in the breakdown lane after colliding with the guardrail.

Moments later, a secondary crash occurred involving a 2019 Volvo tractor-trailer, a 2016 Freightliner tractor-trailer, and a 2019 Hino box truck. As a result of that impact one of the trucks overturned onto the Subaru that was involved in the initial crash. One of the tractor-trailers went off the edge of the road, through a guardrail, and down an embankment.

The operator of the Subaru, Claudia Lukas, 22, of Longmeadow was transported to UMass Medical Center in Worcester, where she was later pronounced deceased.

The operator and passenger of the Volvo tractor-trailer, owned by Big Eagle Express Inc., were transported to UMass Medical Center with minor injuries. They were a 30-year-old male and 30-year-old female, respectively, from Lakewood, Ohio.

The operator of the Freightliner, a 61-year-old Hardwick man, had no apparent injuries. That truck was owned by the A. Duie Pyle company.

The operator of the Kia Sorrento SUV, a 27-year-old Oxford woman, was transported to UMass Medical Center with minor injuries.

The operator of the Honda Accord, a 23-year-old Springfield man, had no apparent injuries.

The operator of the box truck, a 40-year-old Bridgewater man, had no apparent injuries. That truck was owned by Rentex Audio & Visual company.

All vehicles were towed from the scene and are being held for further investigation per the collision reconstruction process.

The facts and circumstances of the crashes are under investigation by the State Police-Charlton Barracks, State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section, and State Police Crime Scene Services Section. No further information is being released at this time.