DRACUT, MASS. (WHDH) - A Manchester, New Hampshire woman was arraigned Wednesday in connection with a crash in Dracut on Saturday that left one person dead and eight other people injured, officials said.
Maria Martorell, 36, was arraigned on charges of negligent operation while under the influence causing motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence, second offense, operating under the influence causing child endangerment, and negligent operation of a motor vehicle in connection with the crash on Route 110, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Dracut Chief of Police Peter Bartlett
A preliminary investigation suggests that at about 9 p.m., Martorell was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee eastbound toward Methuen when her vehicle drifted over the yellow line striking multiple vehicles.
Maria Rivera Mercado, 82, a passenger in the Jeep, was pronounced dead at the scene. All passengers of the other vehicles involved in the crash were transported to nearby hospitals with injuries varying in severity.
This crash is being investigated by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Dracut Police, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Section.
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