OSHA cites guardrail contractor over signs and truck placement in the I-91 work zone where a drunk driver killed three

OSHA found that warning signs leading into the work zone near Exit 10A were not properly placed, MassLive reported from the agency's citations. The truck meant to take the hit from a stray vehicle and shield the crew was not properly positioned either. According to OSHA, the two problems left the five men on the overnight guardrail repair exposed to being struck. The agency opened its inspection the day of the crash and issued the penalty in September 2025.

Prosecutors said Bilal Griffith's 2021 Jeep Cherokee was doing 75 mph one second before it hit the crew at about 12:45 a.m. on March 28, 2025. Three of the five workers died: Raul Bohorquez and Ryan Almeida, who were 57 and 48, and Igor Costa, the youngest at 26. On Tuesday Griffith admitted to three counts of drunk-driving manslaughter and three of fleeing a fatal crash. The Hampden County District Attorney's Office expects a sentence of 15 to 17 years, and sentencing is set for Nov. 20, Boston.com reported.

Because Premier Fence contested the citations, the OSHA case is still open. Premier Fence did not answer MassLive's questions. Cole Fitzpatrick, who studies traffic safety at the University of Massachusetts Transportation Center, told MassLive that badly placed signs are a problem across the region and that short jobs like guardrail repair often get less setup than big projects. MassDOT data show seven work zone deaths in Massachusetts in 2024.