Head-on car crash on Route 1 in Salisbury claims 1 life on New Year’s Eve

By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

A head-on collision between two cars on Route 1 in Salisbury late on New Year’s Eve claimed one life, local police said.

The vehicles collided on the Gillis Bridge, which connects Salisbury and Newburyport, at about 11:20 p.m. on Monday, police said. One car was traveling northbound, and the other southbound, when they collided on the divided highway, said Salisbury Police Sergeant Robert Roy.

“It was just awful,” Roy said in a telephone interview Tuesday. The accident remains under investigation, and police will not identify the victim until family members are notified, he added.

“We are having a terribly difficult time locating a next of kin,” he said.

He declined further comment.

Route 1, a state highway, cuts through the seacoast town on the New Hampshire border.