A crash on Route 101 in Wilton Wednesday afternoon sent two people to the hospital, one by medical helicopter with a serious leg injury, after police reported a driver fell asleep at the wheel.
On Wednesday at approximately 2:46 p.m., police responded to Route 101 in the area of Wilton Center Road for a report of a motor vehicle crash, according to a press release issued Wednesday evening.
The driver of the vehicle, Carol Hayward, 83, of Nashua, was driving east on Route 101 in a 2019 Subaru Legacy when police reported she fell asleep at the wheel, causing the vehicle to drift off the road and strike a tree. The vehicle came to rest on a steep embankment above Blood Brook. The location of the vehicle complicated the extraction of the occupants of the vehicle, according to police.
Hayward was taken by Souhegan Valley Ambulance to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Nashua with non-life-threatening injuries. Her passenger, William Hayward, 86, sustained a femur fracture and was airlifted by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team helicopter to the Elliot Hospital in Manchester.
Based on the police department’s initial investigation, they believe fatigue to be a contributing factor in the cause of the crash. The crash is being investigated by Lt. John Frechette of the Wilton Police Department.
The Wilton police and fire departments, Wilton Ambulance, Milford Fire Department, Temple-Greenville Police, Souhegan Valley Ambulance, WIlton Department of Public Works and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation assisted at the scene.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.