Samuel B. Ibikunle, 72, of Westborough, died just after midnight when a 2018 Ford Transit driving south in the northbound lanes slammed head-on into his car, Massachusetts State Police said. A tractor-trailer behind Ibikunle's Infiniti couldn't stop in time and slammed into the back of his car.
Police said Devin Arroyo was drunk when he made the fatal mistake that lead to the crash. Responders rushed Arroyo and Ibikunle to UMass-Worcester, where doctors pronounced the 72-year-old dead, police said. Arroyo had only minor injuries.
The 41-year-old tractor-trailer driver from Providence was not injured in the crash.
Police charged the 29-year-old Arroyo with operating under the influence of liquor, motor-vehicle homicide while under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, driving the wrong way on a state highway, and a marked-lanes violation, Metro West Daily News reported.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges during a preliminary court hearing Wednesday.
A judge set the Taunton man's cash bail at $100,000 with several stipulations, the newspaper said. Those include house arrest with GPS monitoring, no alcohol with random screenings, and no driving.
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