A Pawtucket man died after Massachusetts State Police troopers tried to save him after his vehicle fell down an embankment in the median of Interstate 495 just south of Plainville on Tuesday morning, police said.
Several calls to the Foxboro Barracks reported both a vehicle fire and a brush fire at around mile marker 35.2 in Plainville at around 3:45 a.m., a statement from state police read. Troopers pulled up to find a 2008 BMW 328 with a Rhode Island registration down in the embankment in the center median.
The car was in several feet of water, but the driver’s side was engulfed in flames, state police said. Two troopers jumped into the embankment and spotted Sage Woodward, 23, face down in water.
One trooper pulled out Woodward, who was on the passenger side of the car, while the other trooper attempted to knock out the flames using a fire extinguisher, state police said. The troopers took Woodward to a higher part of the embankment with the help of two Good Samaritans. Both troopers took turns delivering CPR for several minutes.
Plainville EMS arrived and took Woodward to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Taunton. After he arrived at the hospital, Woodward died, state police said. One of the troopers was also treated at Sturdy with a laceration to his hand.
The left and center lanes of the highway were closed off to traffic for over three hours to allow access for first responders and investigators, state police said. The area was cleared and reopened at 7 a.m.
Early findings in the investigation suggest the BMW hit the guardrail on the right side of the road before veering off to the left, across all three travel lanes, and into the median, state police said. The investigation remains ongoing.
