3 highway workers killed in West Springfield by car "driven at a high rate of speed," DA says

Three construction crew members were killed when a car crashed into a worksite in West Springfield, Massachusetts early Friday morning and a driver is now facing several charges.It happened at around 12:45 a.m. on Interstate 91 North in West Springfield. Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said the three men were at an established worksite, fixing broken guardrails. A State Police detail was also nearby at the time.Fixing broken guardrailsGulluni said a car "driven at a high rate of speed" took the Exit 10A ramp and struck the three workers, who died at the scene. The victims have been identified as Igor Costa of Marlboro and Ryan Almeida and Raul Bohorquez, both of Brockton."I want to first express my condolences to the loved ones of the three victims of this horrible, horrible tragedy," said Gulluni. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this hour."Allegedly fled on footGulluni said the driver, identified as Bilal Griffith of West Springfield, got out of his car and fled the scene on foot. Hours later, during an intense search, he was located and allegedly took off. He then allegedly led police on a chase of about a half mile before he was arrested near Morgan Road in West Springfield."It was several hours later he was seen down in the area off of Riverdale Road, actually by a sergeant assigned to my office, in plainclothes," said Gulluni. "He engaged the individual, who met the description both in clothing and appearance of what was determined by the investigation at that point. After a brief dialogue, this individual went running, this sergeant gave chase and alerted other officers and the Air Wing chased him for upwards of a half mile through the woods and through commercial and residential areas and finally, ended up in the area of Myron Street, where he was sort of surrounded by other law enforcement and at that point, surrendered and was taken into custody."Griffith was charged with three counts of manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of personal injury or death. He is set to be arraigned in Springfield District Court on Friday afternoon.Gulluni said he "couldn't comment" on whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.