Lowell man killed in I-495 accident in Massachusetts

A Lowell man was killed in a crash involving a tractor-trailer and a Dodge Caravan minivan on Route 495 southbound near Exit 38 during a rain storm Thursday night, according to State Police.
Troopers from the Andover barracks responded to the call at 11:03 p.m.Tewksbury firefighters removed the Caravan’s driver, who was taken to Lowell General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was identified as Daniel C. Filiatrault, 44, of Lowell.The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 53-year-old Brockton man, was not injured. The tractor-trailer is owned by Penske Truck Leasing of Reading, Penn.Two travel lanes, the breakdown lane, and an exit ramp remained closed for three hours .A preliminary investigation by Trooper Mical O’Brien indicates that the 2002 Dodge Caravan was travelling south on Route 495 when, for reasons still under investigation, it veered right, went through the breakdown lane and struck the guardrail.The Caravan spun, and then re-entered the travel lanes, facing the right guardrail. Simultaneously, a 2012 Freightliner tractor-trailer that was also travelling southbound in the second travel lane struck the right side of the Caravan. Initial investigation indicates that the tractor-trailer came to a controlled stop in the right lane with the Caravan against the front of the truck.At the time of the crash it was raining heavily. The cause of the crash, including why the Caravan driver initially lost control and whether any charges are warranted, remains under investigation by Troop A of the Massachusetts State Police with the assistance of the State Police Collision Reconstruction and Analysis Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section.