A Wareham man was killed in a fatal head-on car collision involving a Brockton man driving on the wrong way of Route 495 late Saturday night, according to the state police.
Phendy Pamphile, a 26-year-old male of Brockton, was driving southbound on the northbound side of the highway in the areas of Exits 1 and 2 when he crashed head-on into a 2012 Hyundai Veloster coupe traveling northbound on the highway.
The driver of the coupe, 43-year-old Christopher Elicier of Wareham, was ejected from the car by the impact of the crash and was found on the roadway by state troopers responding to the scene, state police said.
Wareham firefighters and EMTs pronounced Elicier deceased at the scene, state police said.
There was no indication in the wreckage of alcohol use, but alcohol and other potential contributing factors have not been ruled out, state police said.
Pamphile, who was driving a 2007 Lexus IS200 sedan, was removed by firefighters using the jaws of life and transported by ambulance to Tobey Hospital in Wareham with a serious leg injury, state police said.
He was later transported by medical helicopter to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence where he currently remains.
The collision occurred in the left northbound travel lane and cause both vehicles to rotate and skid before coming to a final rest.
Massachusetts State Police continue to investigate the facts and circumstances of the crash to determine what caused Pamphile to operate on the wrong side of the road and exactly what charges he will face, state police said.
Preliminary investigation by a state police crash reconstruction expert indicated that neither driver was wearing a seatbelt, state police said.
State police first received a call about a motorist traveling in the wrong direction at 10:20 p.m., state police said.
Troopers from the state police barracks in Bourne responded to the call, state police said.
The current investigation is being conducted by Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police with the assistance of the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section.
Troopers were assisted at the scene by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Division crews, the Wareham Fire Department and EMTs, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
State police shut down the entire interstate between exits 1 and 2 until 1:45 a.m. today in order to facilitate the rescue response and crash investigation.
Wareham Week will update this story as information becomes available.
