WHATELY — A seriously injured passenger was transported by LifeFlight after a car struck a tree about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday on Routes 5 & 10. Three other people were injured.
A white Honda Civic traveling south toward Northampton went straight around a corner when it should have turned, careened off the road, rolled onto its side and struck a tree.
The driver of the car was taken to Baystate Medical Center Springfield by ambulance, and two other passengers were transported to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield. Only one vehicle was involved in the accident, and officials said alcohol or speed was not a factor.
Three South County Emergency Medical Services’ ambulances were required to bring the four victims to the hospitals. Whately and South Deerfield firefighters were called in to extricate the victims. Whately Police Department closed off a section of the road and diverted cars around the accident.
The call came in at 2:32 p.m., and rescuers arrived a few minutes later. A Baystate spokesperson said one person was in critical condition.
“I don’t know why (the car went off the road), or what happened,” said Whately Fire Chief John Hannum. “All four were trapped and couldn’t get out on their own.”
South Deerfield firefighters ripped the roof off the car in order for emergency workers to help the victims. It took firefighters about 20 minutes to free the victims.
Whately Police Chief James Sevigne Jr. said at least one person was wearing a seat belt.
Hannum said the victim who was taken by helicopter to the hospital was in and out of consciousness while rescuers worked.
Thirty minutes after the accident, the car sat propped against a tree on the edge of an embankment. About 20 feet in front of where the car sat, a guardrail rose gradually out of the ground, like a ramp. A cracked windshield lay tangled at the bottom of the hill, and debris was scattered everywhere.