Chicopee official, resident express road safety concerns following deadly crash

CHICOPEE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - A fiery car crash in Chicopee over the weekend left one teenage passenger dead and one man injured. Now, people in Chicopee are sharing their concerns about the street where it happened.

“People just fly by here too fast, the curves, and there’s not enough guardrail. Three houses have gotten hit in the past year and people just drive too fast. Signs ain’t going to do nothing. It ain’t going to slow them down. You need more police here or more guardrails. That’s one thing,” said one Chicopee resident who didn’t want to be identified.

According to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office, Chicopee Police first noticed the car speeding on Broadway just before 3 a.m. Saturday morning. An officer then pulled over the car, but the driver then sped away as the officer approached the vehicle. Shortly after, Chicopee Police noticed that the same car crashed into a home on Montgomery Street, which then led to a fire.

“The guy went upstairs and saved his brother. The car hit the house. He came looking for his brother, he was on top of the car, buried in wood. He got him out,” the resident added.

The homeowner, Joe Lucia of Chicopee, was hit and injured by the car and then transported to a local hospital. Four people, ages 13 to 19, were inside the vehicle. One of them died at the scene and the rest made it out safely.

The Hampden District Attorney’s Office has not yet confirmed their identity or any of the other passengers in the car, but on Monday, we saw a growing memorial with candles and flowers at the scene of the accident. Western Mass News is getting answers from one Chicopee city councilor about what is being done to make roads safer in the city.

“We are constantly looking for new ways and methods to calm everyone down, slow them down. We are looking at speed bumps, we’re looking at radar, a lot of different things that we can incorporate into slowing people down because that seems to be the problem,” said Chicopee At-Large City Councilor Jerry Roy.

Roy also shared this message for the community. “We’re doing the best we can. If you have ideas that we haven’t greeted, you know, we’re open for suggestions…It’s an ongoing issue and hopefully, we can get things accomplished in the future,” he added.

An investigation remains ongoing by the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.

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