Police: Tiverton man dies in crash on 21st birthday

TIVERTON — A one-car crash on Stafford Road early Tuesday morning has resulted in the death of the driver and injuries to his passenger. Both victims are from Tiverton.

Tiverton Police Department Captain Patrick Jones said both men were 21 years old, and that it was the driver’s 21st birthday. The department is not releasing their names pending notification of their families.

The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene by the medical examiner, and his passenger was taken by Medflight to Rhode island Hospital, where his condition remains unknown.

Neither occupant in the car was seat-belted, said Captain Jones. The accident, and whether speed or alcohol or other factors were involved, are under investigation by officers Brendan McKinnon and Dan Martin of the department’s accident reconstruction and investigation team.

Captain Jones said the crash was called in at 1:23 a.m. by a witness who reported “a loud crash.”

The car, a 2006 Pontiac heading southbound on Stafford Road in the vicinity of 423 Stafford Road (near a curve known as “Arruda’s curve”), left the roadway, Captain Jones said, snapped a utility pole, and “catapulted into the woods alongside the road.” The car ended up on the east side of the road. “They hit everything,” said Captain Jones.