State Trooper Hospitalized After Route 1 Wrong-Way Crash In Peabody

PEABODY, MA — For the second time in just three weeks, a Massachusetts state trooper was hit in a wrong-way crash on Route 1 shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.

State Police said the trooper was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after police acted in coordination to protect traffic and stop the driver, who was traveling southbound on Route 1 North in Peabody.

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The crash occurred only a few miles from the spot on Route 1 when State Trooper Kevin Trainor, of Salem, was killed when his cruiser was hit head-on in a wrong-way crash in Lynnfield on May 6.

The driver in Sunday's crash, identified as Lucas Gustavo Brajak DeAlmeida Benedetto, 41, of Newburyport, was also hospitalized and charged with operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and driving the wrong way on a state highway.

He is set for arraignment in Peabody District Court on Monday.

State Police did not release the trooper's ID as of Sunday morning.

Both Trainor and the wrong-way driver were killed in the May 6 crash that happened when Trainor responded from the Danvers barracks following the end of his shift at 2 a.m. and was struck minutes later.