19-year-old critically injured in Dighton crash involving tree and utility pole

A Mercedes was allegedly speeding and ran a stop sign in Dighton, Massachusetts, shortly before the vehicle veered off the road and struck a tree and a utility pole, critically injuring a 19-year-old passenger Saturday night.

According to Dighton police, an officer saw a grey Mercedes sedan traveling at a high rate of speed down Tremont Street around 6:18 p.m. The Mercedes allegedly drove through a stop sign at the intersection of Tremont and Lincoln Avenue.

A preliminary investigation shows that a short time later, that car went off the roadway in the area of 465 Tremont Street, struck a tree and a utility pole, rolled over and came to a rest upright, police said.

The passenger, a 19-year-old Taunton man, is believed to have been ejected from the car as a result of the crash. He was flown by medical helicopter to Rhode Island Hospital with injuries that are believed to be life-threatening, police said.

The driver of the vehicle, a Dighton woman, was taken by the Berkley Fire Department to a hospital in Rhode Island, police said. There was no word on the extent of her injuries.

Police haven’t said what caused the crash. It remains under investigation at this time.

​Further details were not immediately available.