BECKET, Mass. (WWLP) – A Connecticut man was found guilty by a Berkshire County jury in connection to a crash in Becket where one person died.
According to the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office, 70-year-old Stanley Kardys of West Granby, Connecticut was found guilty of a charge of motor vehicle homicide negligent operation. He has been sentenced to 90 days in prison.
On April 23, 2021 around 3:22 p.m., State Police were called to mile marker 14.8 on the Mass Pike for a collision involving a freight tractor-trailer, a Toyota minivan and a Toyota Camry. Kardys was the driver of the tractor-trailer, which collided with the back of the Camry in the right lane of the highway.
The force of the truck pushed the Camry into the left lane, which then hit the left guardrail, then pushed it back into the right lane into the right guardrail on the breakdown lane. The Camry was pushed a total of 526 feet. The minivan was in front of the Camry and was also hit in the incident.
Traffic had slowed in the area due to construction. The truck was traveling at 65 miles per hour and was set on cruise control at the time of the crash while the Camry was traveling at 18 miles per hour. A report on the crash found that the truck’s brakes were not hit until after the collision.
The driver of the Camry, Gary Litwin, was taken to the hospital but died due to their injuries. A passenger of the Camry was also seriously injured but survived.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 providing local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Follow 22News on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
