By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — A Bellows Falls woman was ejected from her vehicle after reportedly rear-ending someone and was flown to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center via DHART helicopter for injuries that authorities called “severe” but “non-life threatening.”
According to a press release by Vermont State Police, on Oct. 10 at 2:46 p.m. the department received a report of a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 91 North at mile marker 33 in Rockingham.
The investigation showed that a 2000 Volvo S70 driven by Elaina Jendrzewski, 25, of Bellows Falls, Vermont, was traveling northbound when it struck the rear of a 1995 Ford F-350 pickup truck driven by Michael Anderson, 42, of Putney, Vermont. The Volvo spun around and struck the front of the pickup truck before continuing to spin and strike the bank, according to the report. Both vehicles came to rest in the shoulder of the northbound lane and Jendrzewski was ejected.
Vermont State Police reported that the cause of the accident was that Jendrzewski was operating at a high rate of speed too close to the rear of Anderson’s vehicle.
The Rockingham Volunteer Fire Department released photos of the accident, showing that the Volvo ended up resting on top of the pickup truck with its front end smashed into the ground. On the “SWNH Alerts & Info” Facebook page, Anderson commented on the accident while in the hospital.
The post by Anderson read: “It happened so quick she hit me on the driver side near my Dooley wheels first and all I remember is like slamming on my brakes and then somehow she ended up getting in front of me and I pushed her like a snowplow last thing I remember she was rolling over the top of the cab of my truck The car got hung up on my head rack I am OK. I’m at the hospital now unknown condition of the other person.”
The driving lane of Interstate 91 North was closed in this area while authorities investigated the crash. Assisting at the scene was Golden Cross, Rockingham Fire Department, Twinline Towing and Rods Mobil, according to Vermont State Police.
According to a post by the Rockingham Volunteer Fire Department, Bellows Falls Rescue was also toned, as well as Walpole and Chester Ambulance. A Rockingham fire officer reportedly requested Westminster Rescue to the scene due to the road construction on the I-91 bridge. Engine 1 and Rescue 1 for Rockingham Fire Department responded to discover Jendrzewski, who was injured with “severe injuries.”
The Volvo was totaled in the accident and the Ford F-350 had moderate front, passenger side and rear damage. Anderson was wearing his seatbelt, but Jendrzewski was not, according to Vermont State Police.
