By Karen Nugent
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Massachusetts)
Copyright 2006 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
ATHOL, Mass. — An elderly Dracut man was killed in a crash with an allegedly drunken driver on Route 2 early yesterday morning.
And in a bizarre twist, a young emergency medical technician who had stopped to help at the crash scene died about an hour later when his car went off the road in Pelham as he was on his way back to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
According to state police, the two-car crash on the westbound side of Route 2, west of Pleasant Street in Athol, resulted in the death of Frank W. Wozniak, 86, of Dracut.
His 1997 minivan was struck by a 1997 Buick Riviera driven by Steven P. Harte of Easton. Police said Mr. Harte’s car was headed east on Route 2 when it crossed over into the westbound lane, hitting the minivan head-on.
Mr. Harte, who was airlifted from the Athol Memorial Hospital to UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus, in Worcester, was later arrested at the hospital and charged with motor vehicle homicide by driving under the influence of alcohol and negligence, motor vehicle homicide by driving under the influence and recklessness, and failing to stay in marked lanes.
The accident was reported shortly after 3 a.m. yesterday.
About an hour later, around 4 a.m. yesterday, state police from the Belchertown barracks were alerted to a one-car crash in Pelham, near 63 Amherst Road.
A state police news release said Bradley N. Skikne, 22, of Middleton, was headed west on the road in a 2004 Toyota Matrix when he apparently lost control of the car, and it went off the right side of the road and up an embankment before rolling back onto the road.
Mr. Skikne, who police said was not wearing a safety belt, was thrown from the car. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Last night, a family friend who answered the telephone at the home of Mr. Skikne’s father in Middleton, said the younger Mr. Skikne, a UMass student, was a trained emergency medical technician who tried to give first aid to both men involved in the Route 2 accident.
“He was just a good soul,” said Susan Cohen, a friend of the Skikne family, adding that he was on his way back to the university. She said the family does not know what caused his car to crash.
Mr. Wozniak was taken by ambulance to Athol Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Bail was set at $10,000 cash for Mr. Harte, who police said was seriously injured. State police said he will be arraigned at a date to be determined by the court.
Route 2 was closed for about four hours after the accident, and traffic was diverted through a nearby weigh station. Amherst Road in Pelham was also shut down for about four hours after Mr. Skikne’s accident.