The driver of a vehicle that fled the scene of a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 495 in Andover, Massachusetts, that resulted in the death of a 75-year-old woman over the weekend has been charged with driving drunk.
State police were called to a report of a hit-and-run crash on I-495 north in Andover around 10:45 p.m. Saturday. Preliminary investigation indicates that a Honda Fit hatchback was driving north with a Ford Edge sedan behind it when the Ford crashed into the rear of the Honda, pushing the Honda across the breakdown lane and into the guardrail. The driver of the Ford did not stop and continued northbound on I-495.
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Two people in the rear seat of the Honda -- a 76-year-old man and a 75-year-old woman -- were trapped in the vehicle and had to be freed by Andover firefighters using the Jaws of Life. Both passengers were taken to Boston hospitals by medical helicopter.
The woman, identified by state police as Luzmila Quispe, of Methuen, died from her injuries at the hospital on Monday.
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A 22-year-old Methuen woman who was driving the Honda and a 53-year-old Methuen woman who was a passenger in the front seat were taken by ambulance to a local hospital with minor injuries.
State police said they found evidence related to the Ford's registration at the scene of the crash, and Lawrence police located the suspect vehicle at a Gulf gas station on Route 114 in their city a short time later. The vehicle had front-end damage and a registration matching the evidence from the crash scene.
A state police trooper responded to the gas station and spoke to the Ford's driver, Jaymee K. Miller, 32, of Lawrence. After conducting several field sobriety tests, she was arrested for operating under the influence of liquor, leaving the scene of a crash causing personal injury and leaving the scene of a crash causing property damage.
Miller was booked at the state police barracks in Andover, where she refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. As a result, state police said she was given a mandatory license suspension and her driver's license was seized. Bail was set at $20,000, and she was taken to the Suffolk County House of Correction to be held until she posts bail or is arraigned.
State police said the charges against Miller could still be upgraded based on the fact that someone died in the crash, depending on the results of the ongoing investigation.
