Six people were injured, five of them seriously, when a car full of young men speeding on Route 6 slammed head-on into another vehicle in Bourne Friday night, authorities said.
Speed, alcohol, and bad weather were contributing factors in the crash, Bourne police said in a statement, adding that the 18-year-old driver who caused the crash was found to be intoxicated.
The accident was declared a “mass casualty incident” by the Bourne Fire Department, which had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate victims.
A preliminary investigation found that a gray Toyota Camry occupied by five young men from Sandwich, all under 21, was going too fast for the snowy conditions on Route 6, also known as the Scenic Highway, police said. The driver lost control after rounding a bend, crossed the center line, and drove head-on into a gray Toyota Corolla traveling in the opposite direction, according to police.
The driver of the Corolla, a 34-year-old man from Marshfield, was the only person in the vehicle. That man and four of the occupants of the other vehicle were taken to area hospitals with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
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The fifth person in the Camry fled the crash scene before officers arrived, but he was later located in a nearby housing development and taken to an area hospital with minor injuries.
None of the people involved in the crash were identified.
All five occupants of the Camry will be charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol and possessing an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, police said.
In addition, the underage driver will be charged with operating under the influence, negligent operation, being a minor transporting alcohol, failure to stay within marked lanes, and speeding, police said.
Reenat Sinay can be reached at reenat.sinay@globe.com.
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