Incidents included deadly car crashes, a devastating fire and a fatal police shootout, among other things.
SPRINGFIELD — Wednesday was a day of death and despair in Western Massachusetts, where a massive fire wiped out homes in Springfield's Forest Park neighborhood and multiple tragedies claimed the lives of at least five people across the region.
The disastrous day began with a 1:45 a.m. fatal car crash in the Franklin County town of Leverett. The victim, 21-year-old Jaryd Ryan Buzzel, was killed after his car struck a tree along North Leverett Road, police said.
A few hours later, a predawn blaze on Chase Avenue in Springfield destroyed two homes and multiple vehicles and left more than a dozen people homeless. Springfield Fire Department officials said the 4:45 a.m. fire "is suspicious and under investigation."
Shortly after 5 a.m., a 23-year-old man carrying a gun was fatally shot by Massachusetts State Police troopers during a drug raid at 18 Mechanic St. in Orange. Authorities have yet to release the man's identity.
Springfield and Ludlow firefighters on Wednesday searched for a missing 10-year-old girl who drowned in the Chicopee River in the Indian Orchard section of Springfield. Around 2 p.m., a body was found at a makeshift campsite behind Meadow Street in Florence, according to Northampton police, who don't suspect foul play.
Police, who received a report of a foul odor, haven't publicly identified the dead man.
Around 3 p.m., a Berkshire County woman was killed and her two passengers were seriously injured after their car collided with a tractor-trailer on Cherry Street in Holyoke. The victim has been identified as Suzanne Robbins, of Hinsdale, according to CBS 3 News, media partner of MassLive.com/The Republican.
Shortly before 6 p.m., the body of 10-year-old Kahdro Abdi was pulled from the Chicopee River in the Indian Orchard section of Springfield.
The Moxon Street girl drowned while swimming with friends, according to public safety officials, who received a 911 call just after 5 p.m. Abdi apparently was trapped under a clump of submerged trees, said Springfield fire spokesman Dennis G. Leger, aide to Commissioner Joseph A. Conant.