New Bedford teen killed, Dartmouth woman seriously injured in single-vehicle car crash
DARTMOUTH — Dartmouth Police and other emergency personnel responded to the area of Gulf Road at Smith Neck Road at 10:35 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5 for a single-vehicle crash with reported ejections.
According to the Dartmouth Police Department, upon arrival, officers located both a male and female lying unresponsive in the roadway near a heavily damaged 2022 Honda Accord.
Both parties were treated at the scene and transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, where the male identified as Jacob Pothier, 18, of New Bedford, was pronounced dead.
The female, identified as Kathleen Martins, 44, of Dartmouth, sustained life-threatening injuries and remains in guarded condition.
The crash currently remains under investigation by members of the Dartmouth Police Department Crash Reconstruction Unit and both Massachusetts State Police and Dartmouth Police Department detectives.
As part of this investigation, the Dartmouth Police Department is asking that anyone who may have witnessed the involved vehicle (a white 2022 Honda Accord) operating in or near the town landing on the west side of the Padanaram bridge before the crash, to contact either Officer Brian Parent at 508-910-1790 or Detective Kyle Costa at 508-910-1755.
Potheir was a senior at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech according to Superintendent-Director Michael Watson.
“The death of a person so young, no matter the circumstances, is a tragedy,” Michael Watson wrote in a statement. “It is the stark reminder of a life not realized. It is the loss of a son to his parents, the loss of a brother to his siblings and the loss of a peer to his friends.”
He noted that mental health and crisis intervention teams will be available to support the students during this difficult time.
A GoFundMe has been created for the parents of Pothier, in the fundraiser it notes that he had turned 18 just two weeks ago. At this time the fund has raised over $34,000 to help the family memorialize and bury him.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Pothier killed in car accident in Dartmouth
