Wrentham, MA : Wrentham intersection collision at the intersection of Route 1A and North Street on Sunday, 25th August 2019

A motorcyclist was seriously injured Sunday in a collision with a pickup truck at what police say is a notoriously dangerous intersection in Wrentham.

The crash occurred at about 4:30 p.m at the intersection of Route 1A and North Street, Wrentham police Chief William McGrath said.

Police believe the motorcycle was traveling south on Route 1A when the pickup truck emerged from North Street, intending to cross Route 1A to Winter Street, McGrath said, but the motorcycle could not stop in time and struck the truck’s driver side.

The operator of the motorcycle was severely injured and flown to Tufts Medical Center in Boston, he said.

“He’s lucky to be alive,” the chief told the Herald. “He has undergone surgery. They’re doing their best to make him whole.”

The pickup truck driver was apparently uninjured but “clearly distraught and concerned about the motorcycle operator,” McGrath said in a Facebook post. “He stated he did not see the motorcycle approaching.”

“Everyone appeared to be properly licensed and sober,” he told the Herald, but the investigation is ongoing.

“Route 1A is a notoriously dangerous intersection with a long history of serious accidents,” McGrath said. He said Wrentham has made “numerous” requests to the state Department of Transportation over the years for improvements, such as a redesign and stoplights.

The intersection has only a single light, blinking red in one direction and yellow in the other, the chief said, and the intersection has become “dramatically busier” since the creation of the William A. Rice Complex, a recreation area on Emerald Street.“It’s generated a lot of traffic, and many of those drivers are not familiar with the dangers of that intersection,” McGrath said. “It’s a fatal waiting to happen.”

Since January 2013, there have been 48 crashes but no fatalities at the intersection, said Judith Reardon Riley, a MassDOT spokeswoman.

“Please note that although MassDOT has received and acted upon a number of requests along this corridor, we have not received any requests about this specific location,” Reardon Riley said in an email. “Over the past several years, we have improved pavement markings, signage, and pavement surfaces within this respective area. MassDOT will work with Wrentham officials to facilitate a Road Safety Audit for this specific intersection to solicit information and help identify what further improvements can be made at this intersection.”

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