Malcolm White, 71, a former Wareham Sewer Commissioner, has been confirmed as the victim of a multi-vehicle crash on I-495 north in Middleboro on the morning of Friday, Aug. 2.

Current Chair of the Sewer Commission, Jim Giberti, confirmed White passed away in the crash. “I was in the middle of the traffic jam [caused by the crash] when I got the call,” he said. 

White served as a Selectman and a Planning Board member in Vermont, as well as on the Wareham Sewer Commission, and had a 40+ year career in construction. He was elected to the Sewer Commission in 2015 and served for eight years before choosing not to run again in 2023. 

“He was a great guy,” Giberti added, saying that the last time they spoke, Giberti had asked White to consider re-joining the Sewer Commission. 

The crash, which happened around 11:30 a.m., involved multiple vehicles and a tractor trailer, according to Massachusetts State Police.

The tractor-trailer was traveling on I-495 when it rear-ended three vehicles slowing for traffic; the reasons for the rear-ending are still under investigation, according to State Police.

White, who was driving a GMC Terrain, was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries, where he was pronounced deceased. 

The operator of another vehicle involved in the crash suffered minor injuries and was transported to a hospital in Brockton. The other two drivers involved did not report injuries.

State Police and Middleboro Police closed I-495 north in Middleboro and diverted traffic off the highway at Route 105 “for the safety of all motorists and investigators,” according to State Police.

The crash remains under investigation by Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police, the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, the State Police Crime Scene Services Section, and investigators from the Plymouth County State Police Detective Unit.

Massachusetts State Police media relations said that the process of reconstructing the collision “can take quite a bit of time (sometimes weeks) to complete.”