SAUGUS, MASS. (WHDH) - State police have identified the Lynn man who was driving the wrong way down Route 1 in Saugus early Saturday morning and caused a violent head-on crash that left him and a woman dead, and another man hospitalized with serious injuries, officials said.
Luis Gallego, 29, of Lynn, was driving south on the northbound lane of the highway around 3:30 a.m. when he slammed into a 2018 Dodge Journey SUV occupied by a 51-year-old Peabody man and his passenger, an adult female, who was identified as Evelyn Pinto, 48, of Peabody.
Troopers from State Police-Danvers responded to the scene and found Gallego dead inside his Chevrolet Impala, which caught fire after the crash.
The 51-year-old Peabody man was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital with serious injuries. His passenger was transported to Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
A preliminary investigation indicates the Impala first clipped the rear end of a box truck and subsequently crashed head-on into the Journey.
The driver of the box truck was not injured.
Route 1 was completely shut down following the crash and reopened around 6 a.m.
The crash remains under investigation by Troop A of the Massachusetts State Police with the assistance of the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section.
No further information has been released.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
Troopers responded to head on crash on Route 1, Saugus overnight caused by wrong-way driver. That driver and 1 occupant of car that was struck suffered fatal injuries. Another occupant of struck car has serious injuries. Investigation ongoing.
— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) August 31, 2019
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