Two women were sent to the hospital after a fiery crash on Route 101 in Dublin on Monday afternoon.
The sports utility vehicle went off the roadway for an unknown reason while traveling toward Peterborough, said Dublin Police Chief Tim Suokko. It veered off the road into the woods, where it burst into flames.
Dan White, of Swanzey, was driving through Dublin on his way to work, when he saw the aftermath of the accident, he said in an interview at the scene.
“I came around the corner, just past Audrey’s, and I saw smoke coming out of the woods. There were six or eight cars pulled over, with people running over frantically,” he said. “I saw the car engulfed in flames.”
White said he stopped himself, and ran down the embankment to help. The female driver was out of the car, he said, but the passenger was trapped, and the hood of the car already fully aflame.
“There was a woman in there, screaming, blood on her face,” said White. “I ran to the passenger side, but it was wedged shut.”
White ran around the car again to assist the woman out of the driver’s side. He said that her foot was stuck.
“I just kept pulling until she came free. I was afraid it was going to explode,” said White. “The driver, she just kept saying ‘Thank you, thank you.’ Life is a precious thing.”
The fire department responded and was able to put out the flames quickly, said Suokko, and both lanes of Route 101 were closed while a tow truck extricated the car from the woods.
The 35-year-old driver and her 28-year-old female passenger were both transported to the hospital, the driver with minor injuries by ambulance to Cheshire Medical Center, and the passenger was airlifted with moderate but non-lifethreatening injuries to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, according to Suokko. Police did not have their names available by press time on Monday afternoon.
The cause of the crash is not known at this time. Route 101 re-opened at around 3 p.m., after being shut down for over an hour and a half.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.