NORWOOD, Mass. — A devastating crash early Wednesday morning in Norwood has left one man dead and another injured after a vehicle careened off Nahatan Street and onto Route 1 in a violent chain of events that stunned witnesses and local officials.
Authorities confirmed that 29-year-old Henry Oberlander was killed when his Honda CRV lost control near Pendergast Circle around 8 a.m. The SUV crossed a grassy median, vaulted over a guardrail, and plunged down an embankment before skidding across the southbound lanes of Route 1 and crashing into a northbound van.
According to Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Norwood Police Chief Christopher Padden, the force of the collision was so intense that the vehicle’s engine was torn from the SUV and thrown from the wreckage.
Oberlander was pronounced dead at the scene. The 47-year-old van driver, whose identity has not yet been released, was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Witnesses described the incident as “unbelievable.”
“To go over that rotary — I’ve been in Norwood a long time, and I don’t know how he would’ve done that,” said Chris Reilly, who works at a nearby dealership. “He must’ve been going fast, because he jumped the guardrail. It’s tragic.”
The crash temporarily shut down both directions of Route 1 between Dean Street and Neponset Street as emergency crews and accident reconstruction teams worked the scene.
Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash with assistance from Massachusetts State Police detectives and the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.
Authorities have not released further details, but community members have expressed condolences to the Oberlander family as Norwood mourns another loss on one of its busiest roadways.
