Icy Mess

Light rain turned to ice on roads yesterday morning, causing dozens of spinouts and accidents throughout the region and sending several people to the hospital.

Cars and trucks were towed from snowbanks.

In Methuen, a school bus was pulling into Comprehensive Grammar School on Howe Street when it was hit by a car that slid on the icy road, said Methuen School Superintendent Judith Scannell.

She said there were no injuries, but an ambulance was called just in case.

"The bus was pulling in, a car slid, and it bumped into the bus," she said.

Police Lt. Michael Wnek said a report on the accident had not been filed because officers were busy all morning. From 7:24 to 8:50 a.m., there were 11 accident calls in Methuen.

There were several accidents on Reservoir Street, a steep residential road across from the entrance to Comprehensive Grammar.

Two sport utility vehicles were in a fender bender in front of 21 Reservoir St. around 8:10 a.m.

A short while later, a city sanding truck working on Worcester Street went out of control as it crossed the Reservoir Street intersection and did a 360-degree turn as it slid down Reservoir Street. The only thing stopping the truck were the two SUVs in the accident in the middle of the road.

The truck stopped sideways on the street, but was eventually removed by a public works driver using heavy doses of salt and sand.

Wnek said there also were accidents on Howe, Tyler, Lowell and Railroad streets and Independence Drive.

There appeared to be just one injury, he said. A pedestrian was hit by a car on Railroad Street at 8:04 a.m., and was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

In Haverhill, there were eight accidents between 6 and 11 a.m., according to police Lt. Kevin Dorr.

A car flipped on its side after hitting a snowbank on Rosemont Street, but the passenger and driver were not injured, he said.

Most of the rest of the cars just slid off the road and had to be towed.

In Andover, a multi-car accident on Interstate 93 north led to at least one injury around 7:30 a.m. During the accident, which was handled by state police, a propane tank on a canteen truck was punctured, leading town fire crews making sure it didn't explode. The tank was shut off without incident.

State police Trooper Sean Lewis said the accident involved five cars and the canteen truck. He said a 33-year-old woman from Wilmington was injured and taken to Holy Family Hospital for treatment.

On the way, however, the Andover town ambulance the woman was riding in broke down on Route 213. A Methuen ambulance was called to take the patient the rest of the way, according to Andover fire Lt. Robert Stabile.

There were at least three other accidents in Andover. One of the more serious happened at the intersection of Main and Wheeler streets when a tractor-trailer went through a red light and hit a car. A passenger in the car was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

State police in Andover at one point reported 'dozens' of accidents on interstates 495 and 93 in both directions. State police in Topsfield reported three rollovers on I-95.

According to Lewis, two cars were involved in an accident on I-495 north, just south of the Route 28 exit, that required two men to be hospitalized. A 42-year-old Lowell man's 2005 Toyota Camry collided with a 2005 Nissan Maxima driven by a 60-year-old man from Billerica. Both were taken to Lawrence General Hospital.

Right after that, at 7:51 a.m. in Methuen, a 2007 Ford Focus driven by a 61-year-old woman from North Andover was in an accident with a 2006 Kia Sedona driven by a 37-year-old woman from Lawrence. The Focus driver was taken to the hospital to be checked for minor injuries.

"The weather system caught people by surprise," Lewis said. "The ground was colder than people thought, and black ice is a factor. The stopping distance increased."

North Andover police and fire also responded to a report of a rollover on Middleton Road near the North Reading line. Middleton Road runs through Harold Parker State Forest.

Lt. Paul Gallagher said a Beverly man driving the vehicle was not injured and refused medical treatment.

"We had four cars off the road and another four accidents," Gallagher said, adding that there were no injuries. "It was like a flash-freeze in the area."

State police in Topsfield also reported numerous accidents on Route 95 in Amesbury and Boxford, including several rollovers.

Provided By: Eagle Tribune

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