NORTHBOROUGH — On Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 8:57 p.m., the Northborough Public Safety Communications Center received multiple 911 calls reporting a serious crash on Interstate 290 eastbound before Exit 27 near Hudson Street/Solomon Pond Road.
According to the Northborough Fire Department, initial reports indicated a head-on crash involving a wrong-way driver, with at least one vehicle on fire.
Since all on-duty Northborough Fire Department resources were already committed to other emergencies at the time of the call, a shift captain immediately requested additional fire, rescue and ambulance crews from the Berlin, Marlborough and Westborough fire departments.
The shift captain and one firefighter/paramedic were able to clear one of the calls quickly and respond to the scene in Engine 1, while Northborough Fire Department’s Medic 2 cleared the hospital and responded to the scene as well, the Northborough Fire Department explained.
Updated reports indicated multiple injuries and at least one trapped occupant.
When Engine 1 arrived on scene, firefighters found two passenger vehicles, later identified as a Subaru and a Jeep, with severe front-end damage. One vehicle was on its side, and both vehicles were fully engulfed in flames.
Several Northborough police officers and Massachusetts State Police troopers were already on scene attempting to put the fire out.
Firefighters began fire suppression operations while simultaneously searching the vehicles for occupants. Crews from Berlin and Marlborough later joined the response, along with additional Northborough Fire Department apparatus staffed by recalled, off-duty personnel.
The driver and sole occupant of one of the vehicles escaped before emergency personnel arrived on scene and was transported by Northborough Fire Department ambulance to UMass Memorial Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to the Northborough Fire Department, the driver and sole occupant of the second vehicle could not be rescued and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Firefighters worked for about 30 minutes and used an estimated 2,000 gallons of water to extinguish the vehicle fires.
Interstate 290 eastbound was closed at Exit 24 (Church Street), while Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, and Crime Scene Services investigated.
After the on-scene investigation was completed, Northborough firefighters spent nearly one hour using hydraulic rescue tools to extricate the deceased victim from the vehicle. The victim was then removed and transported from the scene by the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
All Northborough Fire Department units cleared the scene, and Interstate 290 eastbound reopened at approximately 1:00 a.m.
The crash remains under investigation by Massachusetts State Police and the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.
