Massachusetts State Police release names of couple killed in crash on Route 495

Officials have released the names of two people that were killed in Massachusetts Friday after the vehicle they were traveling in hit a deer.

According to Massachusetts State Police, at approximately 4:50 a.m., Troopers assigned to the State Police-Concord Barracks responded to a crash involving an SUV that had struck a deer on I-495 northbound in Chelmsford at the 87.5 mile marker. The SUV subsequently veered into the median, went airborne, and struck several trees.

When Troopers arrived on scene they discovered a 2016 Nissan Rogue operated by Rudolph Vah, 53, of Acton, in a cropping of trees in the median. Vah, and his female passenger Jartu Flamma, also of Acton were determined to be deceased on scene.

Friends and family were still coming to grips Sunday with the sudden and tragic loss of the couple.

No other vehicles are believed to have been involved in the crash. The deer was killed in the crash.

The left lanes of Route 495 North and southbound were closed until approximately 10 a.m.

The crash remains under investigation by members of Troop A of the Massachusetts State Police with assistance from State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and State Police Crime Scene Services Section. State Police were assisted on scene by Chelmsford Police, Chelmsford Fire and EMS, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.