By George P. Hassett

A 19-year-old Woburn man died Saturday after he lost control of his car on Interstate 93 and fell 30 to 40 feet onto Route 28 early Saturday, according to a statement from the State Police.

Christopher J. Ward was pronounced dead after he was transported from the scene by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital, police said.

The accident occurred at 12:50 a.m. when Ward veered off the elevated roadway, crossed over the guardrail and plummeted, police said.

A Somerville man was arrested in connection with the fatal crash. Lawrence J. Capriotti Jr., 31, was charged with leaving the scene of a crash causing personal injury and leaving the scene of a crash causing property damage.

Police said Capriotti’s 1995 Nissan Frontier pickup truck made contact with Ward’s Taurus either as it hit the ground or immediately after that. Capriotti then fled the scene, police said. State Police put out an alert asking law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for his vehicle. About one hour after the crash, Capriotti returned to the scene in another vehicle.

State Police said Capriotti is not charged with any offenses related to the actual cause of the Taurus’s crash.

To accommodate the rescue response and crash investigation, the ramp from Route 28 southbound to Route 93 southbound was closed for approximately 2 1/2 hours.

The facts and circumstances of the crash, including what caused the Taurus to go off the elevated roadway, remain under investigation by Troop A of the Massachusetts State Police, with the assistance of the State Police Collision Analysis Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section. Troopers were also assisted by the Somerville Fire Department and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Highway Division.