Overview
- A car traveling south in the northbound lanes of Route 1 collided with a Massachusetts State Police cruiser, injuring a trooper who was treated and released after the crash that occurred Sunday.
- State police identified the driver as 41-year-old Lucas DiBenedetto and charged him with OUI, negligent operation, and driving the wrong way on a state highway.
- DiBenedetto posted $500 cash bail but was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody outside the courthouse before arraignment, prompting prosecutors to request a default warrant after he failed to appear.
- Surveillance and gas-station video show the vehicle on the wrong side of the road minutes before the crash on the same stretch of Route 1 where Trooper Kevin Trainor was killed on May 6.
- Lawmakers and MassDOT are pushing to expand wrong‑way detection and countermeasures statewide, citing Connecticut’s program and a Senate plan that would move the state from a 16-site pilot toward a large ramp rollout.