By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
SUNAPEE-A bicyclist was seriously injured in an accident involving an automobile on Thursday afternoon in Sunapee, New Hampshire.
The accident which occured around 12:30 PM on July 7, 2022, shut down Route 103 near Wendell Veterinary Clinic and Sanctuary Dairy Farm. Sunapee Police, in conjunction with the New Hampshire State Police, are currently investigating the accident.
The driver of the automobile was seemingly unharmed and is cooperating with police during the course of the investigation. While Route 103 was closed for a number of hours, a tow truck was able to remove the vehicle and the road opened back up yesterday evening.
A town of New London ambulance raced to the scene to offer medical help to the man who had been struck. Multiple good samaritans came to the man’s aid after he had been launched over a nearby guardrail and lay on the ground. After the New London ambulance arrived, they were able to get the man inside with a bag valve mask, colloquially known as an Ambu Bag, and begin administering aid. A short while later, the Dartmouth Hospital helicopter landed on Route 103 and entered the ambulance to help stabilize the victim before airlifting him to the hospital.
“Accidents aren’t very common on this stretch of road. We have had some fatal accidents near here before though and we really hope that isn’t the case today,” Lieutenant E. Neill Cobb said.
A nearby resident, Keryonna Wood of Sunapee, said she heard a squealing sound and then a noise like a gunshot before coming down to the scene. At which point she saw a woman directing traffic who claimed she was unsure if everyone was okay. The resident noted seeing a number of people surrounding a man who lay on the ground on the other side of the guard rail and an inconsolable woman crying near the car. A man who had been driving and claimed to have witnessed some of the accident believes the woman may have gone into the breakdown lane and struck the man as he was walking his bicycle, causing the bike to jettison across the street and the man to be thrown to the ground.
“It’s a 50 mile per hour zone. If you get hit by a car while you’re walking and they’re going that fast you’re obviously going to be in really bad shape. When I was young enough to take the bus they would have to drop me off further down the street because there is a corner there and it wasn’t considered safe to drop us off closer to my house,” Wood said.
The New Hampshire State Police arrived and did take photographic evidence of the scene for documentation purposes, both of the damaged vehicle and the bicycle.
At time of publication the names of the parties involved have not been released and according to Lieutenant E. Neill Cobb won’t until “we are able to notify the next of kin.” The accident is currently under investigation and until the investigation has been concluded no new information will be released.
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