WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Worcester police are investigating a violent crash overnight that left two people dead and resulted in other serious injuries to passengers.
Officers responding to a report of an assault with a firearm in the area of 97 Water St. around 12:15 a.m. Saturday learned that two males had been walking on Water Street when a Toyota Highlander drove past them and nearly struck them, prompting one of the pedestrians to wave his arms to indicate his displeasure.
That’s when the witness said the driver of the vehicle stopped the car, opened the driver’s side door, and pointed a black handgun at the pedestrian who made the gesture. The victim called 911, got into his own vehicle, and followed the Toyota.
Officers were given the description of the Toyota and were told that the vehicle was traveling up Grafton Street. The male who followed the vehicle told dispatch that the vehicle had pulled over to the side of the road near the intersection of Grafton and County Street.
Officers arrived on Grafton Street and observed the Toyota that was pulled over to the side of the road. They conducted a felony stop, and ordered the driver to turn the vehicle off.
Police say the driver complied at first but when the officers ordered the driver to step out of the vehicle, he turned the vehicle back on and drove southeast on Grafton Street at a high rate of speed.
Soon after, an officer spotted a dark truck that had been in a crash in front of 1015 Grafton St. He continued up the road and saw the Toyota in the roadway flipped upside down in front of Roosevelt School.
Several people were trapped in the vehicle. Officers assisted in freeing the seven occupants from the vehicle and rendered medical aid. Paramedics arrived and transported six of the seven occupants to the hospital.
One 34-year-old female was pronounced dead on scene. A second occupant, the 35-year-old male driver of the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the hospital. In the vehicle, officers located a black airsoft gun designed to resemble a Glock 19 handgun.
A preliminary investigation suggests the Toyota was traveling southeast on Grafton Street at a high rate of speed. The vehicle struck a curb, lost control, and crossed the double yellow line, striking a Dodge Ram that was traveling in the opposite direction.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
No additional information was immediately available.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
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