NEW BEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - One person was killed in a crash Wednesday in New Bedford that started as a police chase in Fairhaven, officials say.
Officers responding to the area of Ashley Boulevard and Tallman Street about 9:49 a.m. for reports of a motor vehicle crash located two vehicles that had been involved in a collision, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
Officials say that two victims were extricated from a Toyota Corolla, and the driver of the Corolla, Janet Murphy, 68, of New Bedford, was pronounced dead en route to a local hospital.
The second victim, a male passenger of the Corolla, is in critical condition at a local hospital.
It is believed that the second motor vehicle, a Chevy Malibu, contained two occupants at the time of the crash, and one occupant was located on scene. The second is believed to have fled, according to the district attorney’s office.
Police are actively searching for the whereabouts of the second occupant.
An initial investigation revealed that Fairhaven police attempted to stop the Chevy Malibu in Fairhaven, but it fled into the New Bedford where it was traveling west on Tallman Street, approaching Ashley Boulevard. That’s when the driver failed to stop at the stop sign and collided with the Toyota Corolla, according to officials.
The investigation is ongoing.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)