The Eagle Tribune
WINDHAM, N.H. — A sudden burst of snow sent more than 40 vehicles off Interstate 93 south within minutes Friday morning, injuring about 15 people and causing a pileup that stretched for miles.
But no one was seriously hurt as one car after another swerved to avoid the crashed vehicles just before 10 a.m.
“They were scattered all across the highway,” Windham Fire Chief Edward Morgan said.
Smashed cars and long lines of traffic were all that one could see as multiple accidents occurred within minutes of each other, Morgan said. Some were overturned and their occupants trapped.
At one point, there were three major accidents within five minutes, he said. There were so many accidents occurring simultaneously, several fire officials were not able to give a total count of the crashes.
“You had multiple situations going on at once,” Morgan said.
Part of the highway was closed for nearly two hours as dozens of New Hampshire State Police troopers and emergency personnel from seven fire departments responded to the chain-reaction crashes.
“It was crazy,” said Capt. Fran Enos of the Salem Fire Department. “It was very sudden.”
But motorists who were lucky enough to avoid a collision soon found themselves snarled in traffic backed for miles, extending from Salem to Londonderry.
They included Christine Amari, 52, of Derry.
“It was horrible for two hours from Exit 4 to Exit 3,” she said. “People had to shut off their cars. I had to shut off my car.”
Anna Marie Cattarin, 57, of Londonderry was driving to meet her daughter in Windham when she saw the chaos unfold in front of her.
“It was very icy and when people had to stop, they couldn’t,” she said. “It was boom, boom, boom — one on top of another. It was just such a mess.”
Cattarin felt her heart sink as she witnessed one motorist slam into a guard rail and nearly tumble down the steep embankment. There were mangled vehicles, flashing red lights and rescue vehicles everywhere, she said.
Some ambulances had difficulty reaching accidents because drivers were trying to pass in the breakdown lane, she said.
“It was awful,” she said. “There were cars that were very, very banged up.”
Battalion Chief Scott Haggart of the Derry Fire Department said rescue vehicles had trouble traveling down I-93 because the highway was blocked by vehicles.
What began as light flurries developed into fierce snow squalls and extremely slippery conditions within minutes.
It was so sudden and unexpected that nothing could be immediately done to avert what would lead to a major mess, according to David Rodrigue, director of operations for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
Highway crews responded as soon as they could to deal with the slippery conditions, he said.
“It was a very quick squall that blew through,” Rodrigue said. “By the time we are out there to treat, sometimes it’s too late.”
Numerous tow trucks had to be called in to quickly haul away about two dozen smashed vehicles to help restore traffic flow. They were towed to the weigh station near Exit 3 in Windham.
“Those guys did a fantastic job,” Enos said.
The closed southbound lanes reopened shortly before noon. A short time later, the sun started to come out, but by 2 p.m. it was snowing again.
Morgan said he was responding to an accident with entrapment on the northbound side of the highway when he suddenly learned of an overturned vehicle in the median.
That was quickly followed by a report of a crash with injuries on I-93 south at the North Lowell Road overpass, he said.
Haggart said his department received about 50 calls from people about the mess on I-93.
It included a major wreck right over the Derry line.
“There were 10 vehicles piled into each other,” he said.
Five people had to be extricated from their smashed vehicles while six others were evaluated but refused treatment or transportation to a hospital, he said.
The victims were taken to Catholic Medical Center, Elliot Hospital and Parkland Medical Center, Haggart said.
Just down the highway, there were about 10 other vehicles off the road but undamaged, Haggart said.
The flurry of accidents on I-93 put a strain on rescue crews and their resources, especially when there were other weather-related crashes occurring in their towns, fire officials said.
While helping Windham, Salem had to deal with two accidents of its own but there were no problems, Enos said.
Emergency personnel from the Londonderry, Pelham, Manchester, Hudson and Hooksett fire departments also assisted Windham and Derry.
No one from state police was available throughout the day Friday to provide details on the pileup.
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