UPDATED: One Killed in Crash on Rte. 128 Tuesday Afternoon

BURLINGTON, MA - One person was killed in a crash on Rte. 128 Tuesday afternoon caused by a tire coming off a truck and striking a vehicle traveling on the opposite side of the highway.

The accident occurred just after 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon on Rte. 128 at Exit 31 on the Lexington/Burlington line.

When Massachusetts State Police troopers arrived at the scene of the crash at approximately 1:15 p.m Tuesday, they determined a wheel came loose from a pickup truck that was traveling on the other side of the highway and crossed the median, striking the northbound car and causing the fatality of the northbound driver.

Police say a preliminary investigation indicates a 1997 Dodge RAM pickup was traveling southbound when its left rear wheel came off the rear axle. The wheel flew over the Jersey barrier median, bounced off one northbound vehicle, and then struck a second northbound vehicle, a sedan operated by an adult male.

First responders found the driver of the sedan, a man whose name has not yet been released, dead at the scene. The tire impacted that vehicle in the area of the windshield and roof. The disabled Dodge RAM came to a stop in the southbound left lane, just south of Exit 31.

Police say the preliminary investigation indicates the RAM was being driven by a 19-year-old woman.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon the southbound lanes on Rte. 128 are open. The Northbound lanes remain closed but are expected to reopen shortly.

The crash remains under investigation.

Patch will continue to bring you more information as it becomes available.