Chilmark police released a report on a fatal moped accident that occurred on South Road in late August, providing harrowing details of the accident and its response.

The accident occurred just before noon on Saturday, August 28, when a rental moped with two passengers collided with a Lexus SUV along a winding stretch of South Road just over the town line in Chilmark. The moped was rented from King’s Moped Rentals in Oak Bluffs.

The 20-year-old male moped driver from Brookfield, identified in the report as Jack Galuska, was airlifted to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence with serious injuries. A 20-year-old woman, previously identified as Hannah Malany Iozzo of West Brookfield, died from injuries sustained in the accident. The operator and passenger in the SUV, both residents of Edgartown, were uninjured. They were returning from a trip to Menemsha for ice cream, according to the police report. The report includes a detailed eyewitness account from another driver who was traveling behind the SUV at the time of the collision. The eyewitness assisted at the scene before police arrived, and later provided police with stark details from the time of the accident and immediately after.

According to the report, written by Chilmark police Sgt. Sean Slavin, a response call went out at 11:58 a.m. for a moped accident with serious injuries in the area of Ridge Hill Road on South Road. While police were en route, the communications center advised that there were two patients, with CPR in progress for one of the patients.

Sergeant Slavin and officer Elizabeth Rogers responded to the scene, along with paramedics.

Upon arrival, Sergeant Slavin observed Mr. Galuska lying on the ground with serious injuries, but conscious, according to the report. He heard Mr. Galuska yelling that “the [expletive] moped wouldn’t turn.” The female patient, Ms. Iozzo, was unconscious, with paramedics performing CPR. She was transported to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Paramedics later informed Chilmark police that Ms. Iozzo had died.

According to the eyewitness testimony provided in the police report and Sergeant Slavin’s account, the moped was traveling westbound, close to the double yellow lines, when it veered over the lines and collided head-on with the driver side of the SUV, hitting its bumper, puncturing the tire and removing the mirror. The eyewitness stated that the passengers were “catapulted” over the vehicle, and the moped was thrown to the side of the road.

According to the eyewitness account, both moped passengers were wearing helmets. Ms. Iozzo’s helmet fell off after she was thrown from the moped, according to the report. Mr. Galuska sustained serious injuries to his arm and leg, according to the eyewitness account.

The report also confirms that two other mopeds were at the scene of the accident, both operated by family members of Ms. Iozzo, including her parents and uncle. The uncle’s moped was traveling in front of the moped involved in the accident, according to the report.

Other witness statements are pending, according to the report.

State police trooper Bobby Branca assisted in the initial incident response, while a member of the state police’s collision analysis and reconstruction team examined the scene Sunday, August 29. Sergeant Slavin has said that the final state police incident report could take months to complete due to backlogs.

According to the Chilmark police report, Trooper Branca obtained a handwritten maintenance log from King’s Rentals for the moped on Monday, August 30. The following day, the moped involved in the collision was inspected by a certified mechanic, the report said.

A copy of the moped mechanical report provided to the Gazette by Chilmark police on Friday flagged no major issues and said that the moped's steering lock was disabled upon inspection. 

"The steering tube showed no cracks or binding and the bearings were well-lubricated and torqued," the report states. “The only signs of damage were accident related."

Sergeant Slavin on Friday said that the police would not be conducting further investigation into the moped, but that it remained impounded if the victim's family requested a separate inspection.

The accident has sparked a renewed interest in a long-stalled home-rule petition to ban the rental of mopeds in Oak Bluffs.

No charges have been filed in connection with the collision. The report states that Mr. Galuska’s right to operate was suspended, pending a hearing with the Registry of Motor Vehicles.