A Florida woman died in a moped crash in Oak Bluffs Thursday after reportedly crashing the vehicle into an oncoming Jeep.
Julie Harris, 41, of Fort Lauderdale, was driving a moped on Beach Road at about 11:30 a.m. near the Big Bridge along with passenger Anya Fisher, 40, of Boston, Oak Bluffs police said in a statement Thursday evening.
Witnesses told police that Ms. Harris was headed towards Edgartown when she abruptly swerved into the opposite lane, colliding head-on with the Jeep, police said.
Ms. Harris was pronounced dead at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital about 45 minutes later, and Ms. Fisher was in critical condition. Ms. Fisher was flown by a medical helicopter from Martha’s Vineyard to a Boston hospital for treatment.
Responding officers immediately attempted life-saving methods and tourniquets at the site of the crash, according to police.
Police said the moped was rented earlier in the day in Oak Bluffs. In a statement Friday, state police said that witness statements and video footage revealed both Ms. Harris and Ms. Fisher were wearing helmets.
The driver of the Jeep, a woman from Newark, New Jersey, was headed towards the center of Oak Bluffs and witnesses told police that they were driving safely prior to the crash. Oak Bluffs police said their initial investigation has not led to any citations or criminal charges against the driver of the Jeep.
One of the four other women in the Jeep suffered minor injuries, according to state police.
The crash closed a large stretch of Beach Road and Seaview Avenue in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs for hours, backing traffic up in the area.
Massachusetts state police are conducting a full investigation and Oak Bluffs police deferred further questions to the state agency. The Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office was also involved in the investigation, but declined to comment on the case Thursday.
Editor's note: this article was updated with more information from state police.
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