By Sara Feijo
The Patriot Ledger
NANTUCKET — Several South Shore residents were among 15 passengers injured when a UMass van went off the road and rolled over during a field trip Monday.
Among the injured were Katherine Carroll, Thomas Kelleher, Charlene Costin and Cynthia Kelleher of Hingham; Richard Rousseau of Canton; Barbara Richardson of Holbrook; and Denise Sullivan of Milton.
Also injured was Patriot Ledger reporter Sue Scheible, who writes the newspaper’s Good Age column and an online blog.
The group was from the UMass-Boston Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, visiting the island as part of an educational program to explore Nantucket’s cultural, historical and biological aspects.
The van was headed to the UMass-Boston field station on the island.
Nantucket police Lt. Jerry Adams said the right front tire of the 2001 gray Ford van got caught on the shoulder of the road, causing the van to go off the road. Adams said the driver was not speeding.
The director of the lifelong learning program, Wichian Rojanawon, who was driving the van, told police he swerved to avoid a vehicle headed in the opposite direction, Adams said.
The incident on Polpis Road was reported at 4:31 p.m. Monday, Adams said. Several ambulances took the victims to Nantucket Cottage Hospital.
Hospital communications officer William Serrall said passengers were treated for cuts, scrapes and minor fractures.
A team of five doctors was ready before victims arrived, Serrall said. A sixth doctor joined the team.
“We were well prepared,” Serrall said. “We went into a major casualty incident mode.”
Three passengers were taken off the island by ambulance and high-speed ferry to Cape Cod Hospital. Two victims were admitted overnight for observation at the Nantucket hospital. The others were treated and released.
Costin remains at the Nantucket hospital for observation, but is in stable condition, Serrall said.
UMass-Boston Chancellor J. Keith Motley visited victims at Cape Cod Hospital on Tuesday, UMass-Boston director of communications DeWayne Lehman said.
“Our greatest concern is always for the safety of our students, and we are extending every effort to ensure that the women and men involved in this unfortunate accident receive all the assistance they need,” Motley said in a written statement. “We have reached out to each of these students and their families to express our concern and see how we can assist them.”
Copyright 2012 The Patriot Ledger