Fatal crash renews call for safety measures on stretch of Route 1 known as ‘Death Valley’

WRENTHAM, Mass. — Early Tuesday morning, Kerri Coppinger of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, was on her way to work. But she never made it. Coppinger, 25, died when her vehicle, a Ford Fusion, collided with a tractor trailer south of Gillette Stadium.

“Preliminary investigation indicates that the Ford Fusion may have drifted over the centerline,” said Wrentham Police Chief William McGrath. The driver of the tractor trailer was distraught but uninjured and, McGrath said, tried to help at the scene. No charges have been filed.

That Coppinger could cross the centerline on that stretch of Route 1 is something that’s long bothered McGrath and Wrentham’s Fire Chief, Antonio Marino.

“They don’t call it Death Valley for no reason,” Marino said. “We’ve had significant injuries and fatalities out there that I’ve been on personally. I’ve lost count.”

And the Chiefs fear things will get worse. Signs on both sides of the road advertise parcels for sale — and thus the promise of future development. Already, close to the road’s junction with I-495, a shopping plaza has gone up — as well as hotels and an entertainment venue featuring an indoor track.

“We’ve never had this many instances of cars attempting to turn from the northbound side across to southbound and vice versa, to get into businesses,” the Chief said.

But there is a way to stop that — and it’s something McGrath and Marino have been pushing the state Department of Transportation to install for years.

“There are Jersey Barriers from the northside of the stadium up to Sharon, all the way up to 95,” Marino said. “And for some reason... it’s just not happening here.”

“It seems like every time that we’re taking a body out of a car this comes into focus,” McGrath added. “But that’s not the truth.”

The Chiefs said the truth is their efforts have been continuous and ongoing.

Boston 25 News reached out to MassDOT regarding efforts to make the road safer, a spokesperson for MassDOT issued the following statement:

“MassDOT is in the process of trying to identify any short term solutions while a larger project, recently initiated, is designed to make safety improvements along Route 1. This larger project is in the preliminary design stage and engineers are evaluating existing conditions, history of crashes, identifying alternatives and impacts to adjacent environmentally sensitive areas.”

Boston 25 News also reached out to State Rep. Shawn Dooley or State Sen. Rebecca Rausch, both of whom, Chief Marino said, have been involved with their efforts, but as of deadline, had not heard back.

And the effort to install Jersey Barriers seems to have public support — if the Wrentham PD’s Facebook page is any indication. Several commenters decried state inaction on making the road safer.

Some Wrentham residents say they try to minimize their time on Route 1.

“It’s dangerous,” said Robert Canavan. “I haven’t seen accidents on it yet but I’ve seen close ones.”

“I tend to avoid it,” said Michelle Beksha. “I take the back roads instead of the main road.”

When there’s an accident similar to the one Tuesday morning, the Chiefs have no such luxury.

“Hard-working young lady, 25 years-old, up at that hour of the morning and just trying to get to work,” said McGrath.

“It takes its toll,” Marino said.

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