NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. — Two Lawrence Academy football players told Boston 25 they’re lucky to be alive this week after swerving out of the way of a speeding wrong-way driver.
Tuesday night, the two players and a fellow teammate behind the wheel were driving home from practice to Worcester.
They noticed a wrong-way driver coming up a Northboro ramp on I-290. The car allegedly forced other vehicles to spin out and swerve around the driver.
After making a three-point turn in the wrong direction, the teenagers claimed the driver sped right at them.
“I really thought I was going to die,” said JJ Montique. “It’s head on, so you really can’t tell. It’s like a blink of an eye.”
His teammate Madsen Loussaint, who was also a passenger in the car, said he saw “the car coming, and I was like, ‘No way, no way this is real.’”
They told Boston 25 their friend swerved right and barely missed the wrong-way driver.
“My heart was pumping,” said Louissaint. “I was relieved that we survived.”
Montique added, “We honestly don’t think he moved the car. We thought it was God. It just happened too quick.”
The boys told their mothers about the close call when they got back home.
“My heart sank,” said Echo Louissaint Collins, Maden’s mother. “I immediately started to thank God... He was milliseconds from losing his life.”
State police are still searching for a wrong-way driver they claim is responsible for a crash on I-290 in Northboro Tuesday night.
They claim the wrong-way driver was not found at the scene of the crash. Only minor injuries were reported for others involved.
The near miss for the teenagers comes after a fatal wrong-way driver accident in June, and the tragic death of Trooper Kevin Trainor in May.
Collins finished, “It keeps getting closer and closer to home... We need to be proactive, not reactive.”
Collins is an advocate with 508 CHEERS, a Worcester-based nonprofit fostering the leaders of the future. She told Boston 25 they will be focusing on advocating for safer roads and regulations.
State police are asking anyone with information about the driver Tuesday night to contact them.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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