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Carjacker crashes on highway in Burlington, police say

State Police say a man carjacked a vehichle, then crashed on Route 128 in Burlington. Massachusetts State Police

In the midst of the holiday weekend travel rush, a Gloucester man carjacked a vehicle and rolled it over on Route 128 in Burlington this afternoon in a wild incident that started in Peabody, officials said.

State Police responded at about 3:15 p.m. to calls for a hit-and-run crash followed by “multiple additional crashes” on the southbound side of the highway beginning in Peabody and ending in Burlington, troopers said in a statement.

“The preliminary report is that the crashes are a result of one male suspect crashing his vehicle, then allegedly carjacking another vehicle and ultimately rolling that vehicle over,” the statement said. “That suspect was arrested trying to flee from the scene of the rollover crash.”

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The man, identified as Arthur B. Choate, 23, of Gloucester, was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

The two left lanes on Route 128 South were closed for about an hour near the Burlington Mall while troopers investigated, the statement said. Choate will also be charged with additional motor vehicle infractions.

State Police did not release any information about the alleged victim or victims of the carjacking.

“The circumstances leading up to Choate’s initial crash, the larceny of another operator’s vehicle and the eventual rollover crash are still under investigation,” the statement said. “Initial investigation suggest that alcohol is not a factor in this case.”

State Police said that seven vehicles were involved in the various crashes but no injuries were reported.

Choate is to be arraigned on Tuesday in Peabody District Court.


Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.