Dartmouth Police Seeking Public’s Help in Fatal Crash Investigation

DARTMOUTH (WBSM) — Dartmouth Police are seeking the public’s assistance in the investigation into a fatal crash that killed a New Bedford teenager on Friday night.

On January 5 at about 10:35 p.m., Dartmouth Police and other emergency personnel responded to the area of Gulf Road at Smith Neck Road for a single-vehicle crash with reported ejections.

Officers arrived to find a male and a female lying unresponsive in the roadway near a heavily damaged 2022 Honda Accord. Both were treated at the scene and transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford.

The male, identified as Jacob Pothier, 18, of New Bedford was pronounced deceased at the hospital.

The female, identified as Kathleen Martins, 44, of Dartmouth sustained life-threatening injuries and remains in guarded condition, police said.

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The crash remains under investigation by the Dartmouth Police Crash Reconstruction Unit as well as detectives from the Dartmouth Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police.

As part of that investigation, police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the Honda Accord “operating in or near the town landing on the west side of the Padanaram Bridge prior to the crash” to contact police.

Anyone with information can contact either Officer Brian Parent at (508) 910-1790 or Detective Kyle Costa at (508) 910-1755.