New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
The deceased victims from yesterday’s crash on Route 195 in Westport are identified as follows.
The operator of the Dodge Caravan livery van is identified as John Oliveria, 68, of Dartmouth. Mr. Oliveria was transported to Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, where he was pronounced deceased. The livery was owned by Regal Transit of New Bedford.
The front-seat passenger of the livery is identified as Josephine Mazzocca, 55, of New Bedford. Ms. Mazzocca was determined to be deceased at the scene.
The front-seat passenger of the BMW 328i is identified as Karonlyne Camile Lima, 23, of New Bedford. Ms. Lima was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, where she was pronounced deceased.
As noted yesterday, the crash occurred when the livery crossed from the westbound side of Route 195, drove through grass median, and entered the eastbound side, where it struck the BMW head-on. What caused Mr. Oliveria to lose control of the vehicle remains under active investigation. Among the possible contributing factors that State Police are investigating are whether he suffered a medical incident just prior to the crash.
As noted yesterday, the remaining victims in the livery and BMW were as follows.
The rear-seat passenger of the livery, a 56-year-old New Bedford man, was transported to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
The operator of the BMW, a 25-year-old Fall River man, was also transported to Rhode Island Hospital.
The rear-seat passenger of the BMW, a three-year-old boy, was transported to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.
As noted yesterday, three other vehicles were involved in secondary crashes after the initial crash. After the livery van careened off the BMW, it struck an Audi A4 that was traveling eastbound. The operator of the Audi, a 34-year-old Fall River man, was not injured (yesterday’s release erroneously stated that he was injured).
Also after the initial impact, the BMW was struck by a second vehicle, a Subaru Outback that was also traveling eastbound. That impact caused the Subaru to become fully engulfed in flames. The operator of the Subaru, a 27-year-old Waterbury, Vermont, man, was transported to Rhode Island Hospital.
A fifth vehicle, a Chevrolet Suburban was also traveling eastbound; it avoided colliding with the other vehicles but struck a sign post on the grassy median. The operator, a 73-year-old man from Barrington, R.I., was not injured.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by State Police from the Dartmouth Barracks and the State Police Detective Unit for Bristol County, with the assistance of the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section.
