By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
SAXTONS RIVER, Vt. — The Jaws of Life were used to extricate a man from a vehicle in a two-vehicle accident in Saxtons River involving a Ford Escape and a private plow/sander, and both drivers were hospitalized with one med-flighted for what authorities called “significant” but “moderate” injuries.
According to information from the Saxtons River First Response Rescue Inc., crews were dispatched for a report of a “motor vehicle accident car versus plow truck with possible entrapment” at about 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Nicholas Cushman of the Saxtons River First Response Rescue, Inc., said that it appeared that the two vehicles were traveling in opposite lanes and brushed each other head on. However, this could not be confirmed as Vermont State Police is still investigating.
All departments responded “without delay,” and while en route, they received an update reporting that one person was trapped.
“Upon arrival, crews and personnel found 2 vehicles with heavy damage,” Saxtons River First Response Rescue Inc. said in a Facebook post. “Bellows Falls Fire immediately began extricating the patient from the vehicle while the patient was receiving medical care from responders and Golden Cross. It was determined to shut down Route 121 in both directions due to the placement of the accident and to provide the crews the necessary room to operate safely.”
According to Bellows Falls Fire Chief Shaun McGinnis, his department responded to the Route 121 accident, along with the Saxtons River Volunteer Fire Department, for a two-vehicle accident at 2:36 p.m. on Tuesday. The accident involved a private snowplow/sander pickup truck and a Ford Escape, which sustained heavy damage.
“We went there with the jaws and extricated one patient, and I went with the ambulance to the landing zone,” McGinnis said.
Details about the accident are limited as it is currently under investigation by state authorities. A photograph released by the Saxtons River Fire Department shows the Ford Escape with the front end entirely torn off and the windshield ripped away. In the background the plow/sander is up against a snowbank with police and firefighters evaluating. Another photograph showed the truck from the front, with the plow pulled off to the side, front end damage, and the driver’s side front wheel off of the vehicle in the snowbank.
The driver of the Ford Escape was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center by the UMass Memorial LifeFlight helicopter. McGinnis did not know the status of the patient who was extricated and taken to the hospital. He said there were facial injuries, and possibly injuries to the chest. The Saxtons River Fire Department described his injuries as “serious” in a post on their Facebook page. The driver of the pickup truck sustained minor injuries, but McGinnis could not specify any further. He was reportedly taken to Springfield Hospital.
Both drivers were adult males and there were no passengers in either vehicle.
Responding to the scene were Saxtons Rivers and Bellows Falls Fire Departments, as well as Golden Cross Ambulance. Bellows Falls Rescue 1 and Car 1 responded to the accident to use the Jaws of Life.
The Westminster Fire Department assisted with traffic and the Rockingham Fire Department set up a landing zone. Also assisting was TwinLine Towing, Recovery and Auto Repair and the Rockingham Highway Department.
The Vermont State Police was also at the scene and is leading the investigation into the crash, but did not immediately respond to a request for additional information about the potential cause.
The accident is under investigation by Vermont State Police.
