Car accident kills twin sister, other twin struck by second car

The reported details of a fatal collision in the eastbound lanes of I-195 in Swansea, Massachusetts, which is about 60 miles south of Boston, underscore the difficulty confronting the state police in determining precisely what occurred.

The accident reconstruction unit is reportedly investigating the death of a woman struck by a Volkswagen Passat just after midnight on March 10. Also, the victim's twin sister was seriously injured after being struck separately by a Honda Civic. Central to the investigation of each car accident is how it happened that one sister was killed in the left-hand passing lane and the twin was struck in the center lane, while their apparently disabled vehicle was stopped in the breakdown lane.

The twins' Chevrolet broke down on I-195 eastbound, though it was not immediately clear who was driving. The twins were said to be outside of the vehicle, which they managed to get into the breakdown lane, though it is not yet clear on which side of the highway their vehicle had stopped. Reports indicated the women were outside of the vehicle working on it prior to the car accident, and police were on their way to assist at the time of the tragic incidents. It is yet to be determined if the twins, who were said to be fond of dancing and often enjoyed trips to Providence on weekends, were attempting to cross the interstate at the time the collisions occurred.

As the police continue their investigation, the families of the twins are left to mourn the death of one and pray for the full recovery of the other. The one that survived was reported to be in Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries. The twins, along with the drivers of each vehicle that struck them, reside in Fall River. While it is too early to draw any conclusions from either car accident, the family of the victims, as well as the car drivers who hit them, will understandably be interested in the results of the formal investigation by Massachusetts police in order to determine their respective rights and responsibilities in relation to the collisions.

Source: The Providence Journal, "Update: Twin sisters hit by cars on I-195; one killed," March 11, 2012