Freezing rain turned roads icy Wednesday morning, leading to crashes and vehicles off the road on major highways.
Route 101 in Peterborough was closed most of the morning and into the afternoon Wednesday, after a vehicle crashed into a telephone pole, causing the pole and wires to block traffic, according to Peterborough Fire Chief Ed Walker.
The crash occurred at about 9:10 a.m., and there were no injuries, according to Walker, but the road had to be closed and a detour implemented, which was still in effect as of 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier that morning, on Route 202 in Peterborough, police and fire crews responded to a head-on collision between two vehicles. Both vehicles were occupied only by the driver. The driver of one car was taken by ambulance to Concord Hospital with a “serious, but not life-threatening” chest injury, Walker said. The other driver was not injured.
Peterborough Ambulance was also originally called to assist in a rollover crash in Dublin on Dublin Road, involving a single vehicle.
At 8:50 a.m., Sarah Trabucco, 22, of Saugus, Mass., driving a 2004 Kia Sorento, was traveling south on Dublin Road near the Harrisville town line and lost control on the icy roadway, according to Dublin Police Chief Timothy Suokko.
Trabucco skidded across the opposite lane and down a small embankment, causing the vehicle to roll on its roof. Trabucco was the only person in the car and was wearing her seat belt, and only had minor bumps and bruises, Suokko said.
“When I arrived on scene, she was trapped inside the vehicle. We were able to get the rear hatchback window open so she could crawl out of the overturned car,” Suokko stated Thursday. “The vehicle was a total loss.”
Trabucco was checked on the scene by emergency personnel and declined to be taken to the hospital. The roadway was treated by the state’s Department of Transportation.
In Rindge, police responded to a crash near the intersection of Route 119 and East Main Street. Rindge Police Chief Rachel Malynowski said conditions were “extremely slick.”
“The hill for 119 is almost impassible at this point,” Malynowski said Wednesday morning. “This came in pretty quickly.”
At 9:32 a.m., police responded to the crash, which involved Thomas Curtin, 61, of Huntsville, Ala., who was operating a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. Thomas was traveling west on Route 119 and was slowing down when a 2020 Dodge Durango, driven by Lisa Staci Gannon, 34, of Leominster, slid into the back of his vehicle.
The front right corner of the Durango struck the left rear panel of the Sonata, causing minor damage. The Durango was towed from the scene as a safety precaution. The Sonata was driven from the scene.
“Road conditions were a significant contributing factor to the accident,” Malynowski said.
Rindge Police also received a report of a vehicle off the road on Route 119 near West Binney Hill Road, but the driver was able to get back on the road without assistance.
In Wilton, there were two minor accidents reported Wednesday morning – one at the intersection of Island Street and Route 101 and the second on Main Street at Russell Street. There were no injuries reported at either crash, and in both cases, all vehicles were able to driven from the scene, according to Wilton Police Chief Eric Olesen.
In more-serious incidents, a vehicle off the road in Wilton on Mason Road had to be removed by a tow truck. In a crash Forest Road, at the Lyndeborough town line, a Haffner’s Oil truck went off the road and also had to be towed.
“As one could imagine, the roads were very treacherous during this time and remained that way until the [New Hampshire Department of Transportation] was able to treat them,” Olesen stated Wednesday. “The [Department of Public Works] from Wilton was ahead of the storm and was able to treat the roads as the conditions progressed.”
Antrim, New Ipswich, Hancock, Greenfield, Francestown and Bennington police departments reported there were no vehicles off the road or crashes reported in their towns, though there were still reports of icy conditions.
“The roads were pretty bad, but state [Department of Transportation] was here within 45 minutes of the iceover. They did a good job,” said Francestown Chief of Police Fred Douglas. “We’ve had no vehicles off the road and no motor-vehicle collisions.”
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.