ATTLEBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - State police have identified the two Polish citizens who were killed in a crash on I-95 in Attleboro on Saturday that caused a passenger van to roll over and eject all 11 of its occupants.
Troopers responding to a reported two-vehicle crash about 11:05 a.m. found an overturned 2004 Ford Econoline van and a damaged 2018 Toyota RAV4 in the area of Exit 3, according to state police.
A preliminary investigation suggests both vehicles were traveling northbound in adjacent lanes when the driver of the RAV4 struck the van, sending both across the median and causing the van to roll over.
All 11 passengers in the van were ejected during the crash.
They were taken by ambulance to Rhode Island Hospital, where Leslaw Mastej, 42, and Jaroslaw Nowak, 49, both of Poland, were pronounced dead.
The other 9 occupants, who suffered serious injuries, were identified as a 62-year-old Lawrenceville, N.J., man; 67-year-old New York City man; a 48-year-old Wallington, N.J., man; a 52-year-old Wallington, N.J., woman; a 44-year-old Garfield, N.J., man; a 42-year-old woman from Poland; a 62-year-old Philadelphia man; a 47-year-old woman from Poland; and a 28-year-old Philadelphia woman.
The van was operating as part of a tour group which caters to the Polish American community, according to state police.
It is believed that the tour may have picked up passengers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Trenton, Linden, and Wallington, New Jersey, and New York City. Police say they were looking to visit several different destinations in Massachusetts.
The driver of the Toyota, a 32-year-old East Providence, Rhode Island woman, was also taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries.
The cause of the crash is being investigated with assistance from the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, Crime Scene Services Section, Troop H Detectives, and troopers assigned to the Bristol District Attorney’s Office.
No charges have been filed.
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