Two Massachusetts men dead in I-195 crash

Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and Director of the Department of Public Safety, said troopers are investigating a fatal crash in which two people were killed on Interstate 195 in East Providence earlier today.

The crash occurred when a tractor-trailer truck and a box truck slowed for traffic in the westbound lanes near Exit 8, Route 114/Pawtucket Avenue, in East Providence. A second tractor-trailer truck collided with the rear of the box truck, forcing it into the back of the first tractor-trailer truck.

The operator of the box truck, Steven Magan, 40, of Palmer, MA, and a passenger, Axel Moran, 38, of Marlboro, MA, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the first tractor-trailer truck was not injured. The driver of the second tractor-trailer truck was taken to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash remains under investigation by the Rhode Island State Police Forensic Services Unit, the Commercial Enforcement Unit, the Collision Reconstruction Unit and the Lincoln Wood Barracks, along with the Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s Office.

All westbound travel lanes on Interstate 195, except the breakdown lane, were blocked for about five hours during the investigation, impacting traffic throughout the area. The high-speed eastbound lane also was closed for several hours while crews worked to clear the scene.