Fatal crash victims ID'd

An elderly woman driver who was seriously injured in a multi-car crash Friday afternoon on Interstate 495 North in Amesbury died yesterday in a Boston hospital.

Patricia Foley, 73, of Limerick, Maine, apparently lost control of her 2007 Pontiac G6, causing the accident that led to her fatal injuries, according to Carrie Kimball-Monahan, spokeswoman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

Foley was initially taken to Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyport, but later transferred to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where she later died.

State police said Foley was traveling down I-495 south shortly before 3 p.m. Friday when she struck another car, veered across the median into oncoming traffic on the northbound and struck several other cars.

Foley made contact with five vehicles: a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Barbara Monopoli, 69, of Salisbury; a Chrysler operated by Thomas Liesegang, 58, of Brookfield; a 2006 Toyota Highlander operated by Kimberly Sanchez, 40, of Newburyport; a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer operated by Tiffany Waters, 33, of Epping N.H.; and a 2007 Volkswagen Rabbit operated by David Ferro, 36, of Northborough. No serious injuries were reported for these involved operators, according to state police.

The crash remains under investigation by troopers from the State Police Barracks in Newbury. A state police accident reconstruction team, Amesbury Fire Department and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation assisted at this scene.

Kimball-Monahan also released the name of the female pedestrian who was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer truck on I-495 south Friday morning. Rebekah Duerr, 30, of Haverhill, died of injuries from the accident near Exit 48, where a giant dog sculpture is located on private land. The exit leads to the entrance to the Covanta Energy plant and the Ward Hill Connector.

An investigation by state police assigned to the district attorney’s office determined that criminal charges would not be filed against the truck driver, Kimball-Monahan said. She did not offer an explanation for why the woman was walking in that area, or why she seemed to be wearing what witnesses described as pajamas.