Victim of 4th of July Crash Dies

According to the Vineyard Gazette, Heather Laflamme, the 21-year-old woman from Berlin, N.H. died Saturday at Brigham and Woman’s Hospital in Boston. Laflamme sustained injuries when she was ejected from the backseat of a 2012 Jeep that crashed with a black 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan. The near the entrance to the Airport Mobil station on Barnes Road.

Of the four occupants of the Jeep, three were flown off Island by helicopter to Boston area hospitals. Seth Jones, 26, and Margaret Jones, 51, both of Dummer, N.H. were both flown to Boston and admitted to Beth Israel with serious injuries. The Gazette reported “Mr. Jones was reported in critical condition on Monday, while Mrs. Jones was reported in good condition.”

The Jeep’s driver, Thomas C. Jones, 51, of Dummer, N.H., was transported by ambulance to with serious injuries and the driver of the Tiguan, 19-year-old Benjamin T. Johnson of Cambridge, MA was treated and released from Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.

Potential factors of the cause of the accident are still under investigation. Some being looked into are the speed of the Tiguan, and whether the right-side placement of the Jeep’s steering wheel affected the driver’s vision in taking a U-turn to his left. No determination has yet been made as to whether these factors contributed to the crash. Police continue to analyze physical evidence and witness statements and are also looking into whether criminal charges are warranted.