WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM/Gray News) – A 29-year-old Massachusetts man was arraigned after he was charged with an early-morning crash that killed three people on Interstate 91 on Friday.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said a crew was working to repair damaged guardrails along I-91 north when, at around 12:45 a.m., an SUV took the exit at “a very high rate of speed” and struck the three men, who worked for Premier Fencing Company, of Canton.
The SUV then flipped over and came to a rest in the middle of the exit ramp.
Local and state investigators learned that the driver got out of the SUV and fled after the crash.
After searching by air and on the ground, the driver was located and “a chase ensued,” Gulluni explained. The suspect was eventually surrounded by law enforcement and taken into custody near Morgan Road in West Springfield.
The three workers who were killed have been identified as Igor Costa, of Marlborough, Ryan Almeida, of Brockton, and Raul Bohorquez, of Brockton.
Gulluni said all three men were pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect was later identified as 29-year-old Balil Griffith, of West Springfield.
Griffith was arraigned Friday in Springfield District Court on three counts of manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of personal injury or death. He is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled back in court on April 2.
Premier Fencing Company said on Friday that they are cooperating with the investigation.
The crash remains under investigation by the district attorney’s office, the West Springfield Police Department, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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