DANVERS — A 69-year-old tourist from Alaska died in an accident on Route 95 near Danvers after a piece of metal pierced the windshield and struck the driver on Friday morning, State Police said.
Thomas Arrington, of Palmer, Alaska, was driving a rented 2020 Ford Fusion northbound in the second lane from the left on Route 95 near Exit 67B in Danvers, when a piece of metal struck the car, according to David Procopio, spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police.
The police identified the piece of metal as a concrete screed, a tool used to level and smooth freshly poured concrete. It broke through the windshield of the Ford Fusion and struck Arrington, Procopio said.
The metal screed fell out of a 2020 Ford F550 dump truck that was traveling in the second travel lane on the same side of the highway, State Troopers have determined a 21-year-old man from Lynn, who works for a Lynn construction company, was operating the truck. He identified himself to State Police and has been cooperative, Procopio said.
Arrington was able to stop the car on the highway before succumbing to his injuries. The accident was reported at 8:23 a.m. and first responders determined Arrington to be dead at the scene, Procopio said.
A 68-year-old female passenger who was also in the Ford Fusion with Arrington — who has been identified as Arrington’s wife — was transported to Beverly Hospital with minor injuries and was later released.
Arrington and his wife had arrived in Massachusetts earlier on Friday for a vacation.
The crash remains under investigation by Troop A of the Massachusetts State Police. No charges have been filed at this time; the ongoing investigation will determine if charges are warranted.
State Police were also assisted on scene by Danvers Fire and EMS, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as well as the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
The left two lanes of the northbound side were closed for the investigation.
