McGregor Memorial EMS in the News
Rescue personnel work to stabilize Paul Bower, 78, right, and Martha Bower, 68, both of Contoocook after a two-vehicle collision on Route 4 in Durham about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. (Brian DeKoning/staff photo)
6 hurt in Durham two-car crash
By BRIAN DEKONING, Staff Writer
In Foster's Online
Sunday, August 17, 2003
DURHAM — A two-vehicle collision on Route 4 sent six people to hospitals Saturday evening.
Five males and one woman were injured in the crash near the weigh station west of Madbury Road about 7:30 p.m. None of the injuries were life-threatening, police said.
Rescuers used mechanical extrication tools to rip the roof off a Buick Park Avenue to free its injured occupants after the car collided with a Dodge Caravan.
The Dodge, which was traveling east toward Portsmouth, crashed into trees about 20 feet south of the highway and the Buick came to rest facing east in the eastbound breakdown lane. The Buick had been westbound.
Both cars appeared to have been destroyed in the crash.
Paul Bower, 78, the driver of the Buick and Martha Bower, 68, who was in the front passenger seat, sat with blood on their faces as emergency personnel tore the roof off the car and then stabilized the occupants with neck braces and eventually removed them using back boards. Both Bowers live in Contoocook.
A male passenger in the back seat of the Bowers' car was not identified.
The driver of the Dodge, Rich Cambriello, 35, laid face up on a grassy incline by the roadside as emergency personnel tended to his injuries.
Joan Sergio of Lee, who was at the scene but not involved in the accident, said Cambriello was her fiance. Sergio identified Anthony Cambriello, 16, and Mike Fisk, 15, as other occupants of the Dodge.
Fisk was able to walk to an ambulance and Anthony Cambriello stood as rescuers secured a neck brace on him.
Sergio said Cambriello and the two boys were on their way to a mall in Newington to see a recently released horror movie. Sergio and Ashley Kretschmar, 16, were also on their way to the mall in a separate vehicle. They were in downtown Durham at the time of the accident and were called to the scene on Sergio's cell phone.
The cause of the accident was under investigation late Saturday night, according to Durham Police Sgt. Bob Joslin.
Traffic was detoured down Madbury Road and Main Street as emergency personnel tended to the crash victims. Police took measurements and photos at the scene.
Durham police and fire departments, Dover Fire Rescue, Newmarket Rescue, Durham Ambulance Corps, and Frisbie Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene. Madbury police assisted with traffic control.
