NORTHAMPTON - Police have identified a man who died after a car crash in Florence Wednesday evening as Monroe L. Bethea, 51, of 10 West St., Greenfield.

Northampton Police Lt. Scott Savino said investigators learned Beathea had been experiencing chest pains earlier in the day, and apparently was on his way to Cooley Dickinson Hospital when he crashed near the intersection of Florence and Ryan roads.

He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy will be performed Friday, Savino said.

Bethea's Honda Civic crashed into a row of trees outside 4 Florence Road about 6:25 p.m. Wednesday. Police said Bethea, the sole occupant, appears to have suffered no major injuries in the collision. Firefighters were about to remove him from the car through the passenger-side door.

Emergency responders initially thought the car had caught fire, said Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Vanasse, but later found that spinning tires had caused the inside of the vehicle to fill with smoke.

The accident remains under investigation by Northampton Police and the Northwestern district attorney's office.