Crime & Safety

Car Slams Into Pole, Closes Rt. 1A for Over an Hour

Two people were hurt - one seriously - when a car slammed into an utility pole on Route 1A in Wenham Monday night.

The crash happened at about 9:30 p.m. just north of the Beverly city line.

The female driver of the car was outside the red Pontiac Grand Am after the crash, according to witnesses, but a male passenger was trapped in the car for about a half hour. Wenham Fire Department firefighters worked with firefighters from Beverly as well as ambulance crews from Lyons ambulance and Northeast Regional Ambulance to free the victim and treat him.

One driver said he saw the car involved in the crash pass him just before the crash and estimated that it was going 60-70 miles per hour.

"They passed me like I was standing still," said James Giacalone, who was headed from Hamilton to Beverly. He said the red Pontiac passed him in his Nissan Altima as he rounded Wenham Lake, headed southbound in an area known as Pond Hill.

When he came around the corner and was just about at the Beverly city line, "I wasn't surprised to see it them an accident," he said.

Another driver, headed north, saw the car strike a stonewall and flip right in front of her.

Angela Rackliffe just almost home when she saw the car headed toward her.

She has just entered Wenham from Beverly on Route 1A when saw the car hit a stonewall in front of 10 Main St. and roll.

"I thought that car was coming through my windshield," she said.

The crash closed Route 1A from about 9:30 to 11 p.m. as rescuers freed the passneger, who was trapped in the car, plus investigated and towed away the car.

Wenham Fire Chief Bob Blanchard said firefighters cut off the car's roof and popped the door to get the passenger out of the car.

"This was a tough one because he was in a spot where we couldn't get to the other side of him because of the pole," Blanchard said at the scene.

Wenham Police Officer Shane Kavanagh said that the crash remains under investigation.
 

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